There's Something About Barry
by RedQ
Summary: Something's not right with Barry. Ever since a run-in with a metahuman, he's been acting…different. Between the wild parties, Flash pranks, and…casual encounters, it's safe to say Barry's not himself—Bad boy Barry. Barry with no inhibitions.
1. Responsibility

**Important: Takes place in season two. Don't take this story too seriously. Chapters will be short. It's just a small humorous story I wrote to take a break from my heavier stories.**

 **Disclaimer: The story's title comes from the movie "There's Something About Mary."**

 **Warning: Non-explicit adult themes. Barry is very OOC.**

* * *

 **Responsibility**

* * *

"Guys, I told you, I'm perfectly fine," Barry assured them, rolling his eyes.

"That's what you said last time," Caitlin pointed out seriously, "When Rainbow Raider whammied you, you said you felt fine at first."

"Yeah," Cisco chimed, "And then you went all Krav Maga on everyone."

"Well, that was different," Barry insisted.

"How on earth was it different?" Cisco demanded.

"Because," Barry said, "Last time, we knew Bivolo could induce rage. We haven't seen anything from this meta to suggest he causes the same effect. We don't even know if this guy _is_ a meta."

"Barry, you said his _eyes_ changed color," Caitlin said seriously, "I think it's safe to say he's a meta. You said he looked at you and everything went red—just like it did with Bivolo, so forgive us for being a little concerned."

"Yeah, but last time I was starting to feel irritable by this point," Barry told her, "Do you see me snapping at you or acting cranky?"

"No, but you're being incredibly blasé about this, dude," Cisco said in frustration, "This is serious."

Barry raised his eyebrows.

"Since when are _you_ the serious one around here?" he laughed.

"Gee, I don't know," Cisco said, "Maybe since I saw Zoom snap your spine like a twig a few weeks ago."

Barry shrugged.

"Eh, you need to get over that already," he said with a small laugh, "I'm good now."

Cisco and Caitlin both furrowed their eyebrows at him.

"Barry," Caitlin said gently, "A person doesn't just 'get over' a trauma like that. You know you don't have to be 'good.' You can let yourself process it."

"Well, what do you want me to do?" Barry asked in exasperation, "What were you expecting? For me to stay huddled up in the fetal position? For me to just stop trying? Sit in a chair for the rest of my life? Hey, everyone. My name is Barry Allen, and I have the fastest wheelchair around."

Cisco snorted but Caitlin remained serious.

"Of course not," she said, rolling her eyes, "Of course, you recovered and got back up to speed again. I didn't expect anything less from you. I'm just saying that even if you've recovered physically, it doesn't mean you're okay _emotionally_."

"Emotionally," Barry scoffed, "I hate to break it to you guys, but I'm not as _emotional_ as you think I am. I don't have to throw a pity party every time I get hurt."

"Dude, that's not what we're saying," Cisco said seriously, "We know you haven't been throwing pity parties for yourself. You've been doing just the opposite, actually. You've been keeping it all in. You're not talking to us."

"Yeah, and maybe if we all stopped sitting around, talking about our feelings, singing kumbaya all the time, we'd have defeated Zoom by now," Barry pointed out with a small laugh.

"Barry, it's about more than just sharing your feelings," Caitlin said, "We thought you were taking all of this more seriously now. Zoom breaking your back opened _all_ of our eyes. Before your fight, we've been treating all of this like a game, but now—"

"That's not true at all," Barry said stubbornly, shaking his head, "I've been taking this seriously from the start— _too_ seriously. That's why I lost against Zoom. I took myself too seriously and ended up underestimating him. I've been looking at this the wrong way."

Cisco gave him a confused look.

"And what's the _right_ way?" he asked slowly.

Barry shook his head.

"I've been working myself up too much," he said simply, "I've been dwelling on my past mistakes, and it's been only causing me to make more mistakes. I've got the Yips—as you would say—and I think it's about time we got rid of them."

"How?" Cisco and Caitlin both asked together, staring at Barry with serious looks on their faces.

Barry smiled wickedly at them.

"By letting loose."

Cisco and Caitlin both looked at each other.

"Letting loose?" Caitlin asked, furrowing her eyebrows, "Letting loose, how?"

Barry's devious smile deepened.

"I think it's time Team Flash go out for a night on the town," he said simply, "We haven't done that in almost a year now— _longer_ for me, considering I haven't been able to get drunk since before the lightning. I've been sober for over a year. It's time we remedied that."

Caitlin continued to furrow her eyebrows at him, but Cisco had a small smile forming on his face now.

"He _does_ have a point," he said to her, "Maybe a night out would be good for us."

Caitlin shook her head stubbornly.

"What about this metahuman?" she reminded them seriously.

"What about him?" Barry shrugged, "I said I feel fine. The meta didn't do anything to me. I don't think he's a very major threat at the moment."

"Barry, do you _hear_ yourself?!" Caitlin asked incredulously, "The _problem_ here is that we don't _know_ what the metahuman is capable of. Shouldn't you be more concerned about this?"

Barry shrugged again.

"Has he hurt anyone?" he asked, "Has he done anything illegal?"

Caitlin furrowed her eyebrows.

"Well…no, I…I guess not," she stammered.

"Then why are we even worried about him?" Barry concluded simply, "You think just because he's a metahuman, he's dangerous? That's downright prejudice, Cait. It's…meta-ist, and as a metahuman, I find it insulting."

Cisco snorted.

"Dude, don't play the meta card," he laughed, "It's lame."

Barry laughed, too.

"Hey, I'm only _half_ joking," he chuckled, "It starts with just a few closed-minded people, and it's all downhill from there. What are people going to think if the Flash catches meta after meta? They're going to start seeing metahumans as the bad guys. So, really, as the Flash, it's my responsibility _not_ to catch metahumans."

Caitlin shook her head at him.

"I'm not seeing your logic, Barry," she said seriously.

Barry gave an impatient wave of his hand.

"Regardless of responsibility," he said quickly, "I think even the Flash deserves a night off every now and then, and more importantly, he deserves a good buzz. How's that new alcohol suspension coming along anyways?"

Caitlin stared at him.

"You haven't even been working on it, have you?" Barry said, raising an eyebrow.

Caitlin shook her head.

"Sorry," she said flatly, "I've been focused on more important things than getting you _drunk_ , Barry."

Barry let out a heavy sigh.

"No worries," he said simply, ignoring her sarcasm, "I'll figure it out myself. I'm a scientist, after all. I'll just work on it in my free time at work today."

"Speaking of work," Cisco said seriously, "Aren't you supposed to be there now?"

"Oh, shit," Barry laughed, looking at his watch, "Yeah, I guess so. I should probably head over there."

He looked up from his watch then.

"See you guys later," he said with a grin.

They stared after him as he flashed out of the room. Both of them stood there, frowning at where Barry had been standing.

"Something's not right with him," Caitlin said seriously.

Cisco shrugged.

"He said he felt fine," he said, "And he doesn't seem angry or anything. He seems…looser."

"Exactly," Caitlin said seriously, " _Too_ loose. I have a bad feeling about this."

"I think Barry's fine, Caitlin," Cisco assured her, "I don't think it's the metahuman. I think Barry just needs to let off some steam. Really, it's kind of refreshing to see him like this. I'd rather see him like this than dwelling over Zoom or hurting over his breakup with Patty."

"But what about Earth two?" Caitlin asked, "We're supposed to be preparing for our mission over there. Don't you think Barry should be more focused on _that_?"

Cisco let out a heavy sigh.

"Caitlin, one night off isn't going to hurt anything," he said, "If anything, it'll give Barry a chance to clear his head. I think he really needs this."

Caitlin sighed.

"I guess," she said quietly, "But we really need to keep an eye on him. Something's very off about Barry right now."

Cisco nodded seriously.

"We'll watch him," he agreed, "But really, what's the worst Barry could do?"


	2. A Little Incentive

**Just a quick reminder, chapters will be short for this story. Most of them will just consist of one humorous badass Barry scene. It won't be a serious, full-length story like my others.**

* * *

 **A Little Incentive**

* * *

Barry walked into the precinct with a smile on his face, a smile that didn't so much as waver when he was approached by a disapproving Joe West.

"Bar," he said seriously, "Where have you been?"

"Dealing with a metahuman," Barry replied calmly, "And a pretty _lame_ one at that. Did I miss anything?"

"No," Joe assured him, "You're good. Singh didn't even notice you were gone."

He looked down at Barry's hands then, and Barry let out a light laugh.

"I may have stopped for a bite," he said, holding up the box in his hands, "Cannoli? I got enough for everyone."

"Where'd you get cannoli's?" Joe asked, staring at the box in confusion.

"That Italian restaurant in Midway," Barry answered, "Excellent food. The service could use some work, though."

"You went all the way to Midway to sit down for a full-course meal?" Joe asked, raising his eyebrows.

"Hey, a speedster's gotta eat," Barry laughed, "And the captain didn't notice I was gone, so no harm done. Actually, I was going to go talk to him now. Hold this for me."

He shoved the box into Joe's hands. Joe watched in confusion as Barry sauntered over to the captain's office, opening the door without knocking.

There was something about Barry that didn't seem quite right. Something strange was going on here.

* * *

Singh looked up when he heard his office door open. Usually, people knocked before entering, but there were always those few people on the force who didn't bother with the courtesy. Singh had been expecting one of those officers to walk in through the door, but he was surprised when Barry Allen—the poster child for politeness—walked through the door without so much as a knock.

"Allen," he sighed, "You're interrupting my very limited lunch break."

Barry glanced at the food on Singh's desk and smiled.

"You know," he said in all seriousness, "You should really just put your foot down with your husband. Tell him you're a grown man and can eat whatever you want. You shouldn't have to limit your fast food meals to your lunch breaks at work."

Singh blinked at him.

"My problems with my husband are my business, Allen," he said gruffly, "Now, can I help you with something?"

"I just came to tell you I finished all my cases this morning," Barry said simply.

Singh furrowed his eyebrows at him in annoyance.

"So, you came and interrupted my lunch just to tell me that?" he asked, shaking his head in irritation, "What are you looking for, Allen? A gold star?"

"Not quite," Barry shrugged, "I'm just saying I've done everything assigned to me, and now I have nothing to do. Frankly, I don't know why I'm still here."

Singh blinked at him.

"You're here," he said seriously, "Because this is your _job_. I don't care if you've finished your cases. You're still on the clock, Allen."

To his surprise, Barry laughed and shook his head.

"You misunderstand me," Barry said pleasantly, "I mean I don't know why I'm still _working_ here. I do everything I'm told and don't get anything for it. Whether I get my cases done in the nick of time or a week early, it makes no difference. The outcome is the same. It makes a man question the point of it all after a while. Maybe it wouldn't bother me so much if I had a little… _incentive_."

Singh stared at him in shock.

"Allen," he said slowly, "Are you asking me for a _raise_?"

Barry raised his eyebrows at him.

"And if I am?" he asked with a slight tilt of his head.

Singh blinked at him.

"And if you are, I'd say you've never asked me for a raise before," he said, still in shock by Barry's straightforwardness, "What exactly makes you think you deserve a raise, Allen?"

"Hey, you can pay me whatever you want," Barry said simply, keeping his voice pleasant as he continued, "I'm just saying I get my work done. I do everything I'm told, like a good little CSI, no questions asked. After a while, I can't help but think my talents are being underappreciated here. Let me remind you, I have a double major in chemistry and physics. I finished top of my class at Central University, and when I left school, I had my pick of jobs. I still get a lot of… _compelling_ job offers today."

Singh's eyes widened.

"Allen," he said seriously, "Are you threatening to _quit_?"

Barry raised his hands up innocently.

"Did I say that?" he asked in mock innocence, "I just said there are a lot of other options available to me. If I wanted to, I could get a job tomorrow that would pay _twice_ as much…unless I had some incentive to stay."

"Okay, hang on," Singh said quickly, "Don't go running off doing anything rash, Barry. We can work this out."

A small smile formed on the kid's face. The little shit. Singh had never seen this side of Barry Allen before. Granted, Singh _did_ tend to take the kid for granted. It was easy to forget just how _overqualified_ Barry was for his position. He should have known it'd only be a matter of time before he and Barry would be having this conversation.

"How's a ten percent raise sound?" Singh suggested hopefully.

Barry sighed.

"Mercury Labs just offered me a position that pays…well, let's just say I'd be making six figures."

"Allen, you know I can't pay you that much," Singh said seriously, his heartrate picking up.

He was going to lose his best CSI.

"Of course not," Barry said reasonably, a small smile on his face, "I was thinking more like…a fifteen percent pay bump?"

Singh let out a breath of relief.

"Yeah," he said quickly, "Yeah, I could make that work, Barry."

A satisfied smile formed on Barry Allen's face.

"Thank you, sir," he said smugly, "I appreciate the courtesy. I'll be getting back to work now. You should come grab a cannoli. I brought a whole box in from that restaurant in Midway."

He moved to leave then but paused in the doorway.

"Don't worry," he said with a wink, "Rob doesn't have to know."

Barry opened the door and exited the room then. Singh stared at the closed door after the CSI left.

What the hell just happened?


	3. Flaming Flash Fireball

**Flaming Flash Fireball**

* * *

"Cheers!" Barry toasted as they all held up their drinks.

Everyone smiled and tapped their glasses together before drinking.

"So, Barry," Iris said, setting her glass on the bar, "What brought this on?"

Barry shrugged.

"It's Friday," he said simply.

"Yeah," Iris said slowly, "But it's not like we normally go out on Fridays."

"Well, maybe we should change that," Barry laughed, "We've been working too hard. I think we deserve a drink every now and then."

"Barry, you can't get drunk," Cisco pointed out.

A smug smile formed on Barry's face, as if he had been waiting for someone to say that. Barry grinned as he reached into his pocket and pulled out a small bottle.

"What is _that_?" Caitlin demanded seriously, looking at the small pill Barry tipped out into his hand.

"This Caitlin," Barry said, holding up the pill, "Is the magic of science. I told you I'd figure it out."

"You figured out how to get drunk in _one day_?" Cisco asked, raising his eyebrows.

"All I needed was proper motivation," Barry said with a grin.

Caitlin opened her mouth to protest as Barry plopped the pill into his mouth, but it was too late. He chased it down with his whiskey old fashion in an instant. **[1]**

"Relax," he laughed when he saw the worried look on her face, "It's just concentrated fomepizole."

Caitlin raised her eyebrows at him.

"I can't believe I didn't think of that," she said after a moment, an impressed expression on her face.

Barry smiled at her.

"It's easier than distilling one-thousand proof ethanol," he said—somewhat condescendingly.

"How does it work?" Cisco asked curiously.

"It'll counteract the alcohol dehydrogenase enzymes in my liver," Barry told him, "It'll block the enzymes and inhibit the oxidization of ethanol glycol and methanol in my bloodstream. Basically, it'll stop my body from breaking down the alcohol in my system, and the alcohol will affect me the same way it does everyone else— _without_ inhibiting the rest of my metabolism." **[2]**

"So you'll still have your speed," Caitlin smiled, shaking her head, "Barry, that's genius!"

"I'm glad you approve," Barry laughed.

He slapped a fifty on the bar then.

"I've got this round," he said with a grin, "I'm celebrating tonight."

"What are you celebrating?" Cisco asked.

"A nice pay raise at work," Barry said simply.

"Singh gave you a raise?" Iris asked in shock, "How'd you manage _that_?"

A smug smile formed on Barry's face.

"Let's just say I made him realize I could be doing bigger and better things," he said, smiling knowingly.

Iris raised her eyebrows at him.

"But you _love_ your job," she frowned.

Barry shrugged.

"Yeah," he said, "But Singh needs to realize I'm not as expendable as he thinks I am. You should have seen the look on his face when I was talking about leaving. He was all but throwing money at me to get me to stay."

"Good for you, man," Cisco laughed, "It's about time Singh realized how valuable you are to the CCPD."

Barry grinned at him and then turned to the bartender.

"Hey, could you line up some shots here?" he requested.

"What kind of shots?" the bartender sighed, an annoyed look on his face.

"Flaming Flash Fireball shots," Barry said, smirking as he looked at the special board.

The bartender nodded and started pulling out bottles of Fireball and Rumchata. **[3]**

"Flaming Flash Fireball shots?" Caitlin asked, raising an eyebrow.

"It's a step up from the Flash cappuccino at Jitters," Barry laughed.

"Hell yeah, it is!" Cisco cheered, watching the bartender light the shots on fire.

Caitlin watched nervously as the shots were lined up.

"Guys, this looks dangerous," she said seriously.

"Come on, Caitlin. Live a little," Barry grinned, picking up a flaming shot.

Everyone else grabbed theirs nervously.

"You're supposed to blow it out before drinking it," Cisco said, blowing out the flame on his shot.

Caitlin and Iris quickly did the same, but Barry didn't follow suit.

"What are you doing, Barry?" Iris asked nervously.

"You don't _have_ to blow it out," he laughed, "You can drink it like this."

"I'm supposed to advise you against that," the bartender said in a bored voice.

Barry dismissed him with an impatient wave of his hand. The bartender just sighed and walked away. Dumb college kids.

"Barry, you're going to burn yourself!" Iris said worriedly, staring at the blue flames emitting from his shot class.

"No, I'm not," he said calmly, "It's simple science. The fire is only _on top_ of the liquid. The drink itself isn't very hot, and if you throw it back and close your mouth, you cut off the oxygen to put out the fire before it can burn you."

"Dude, haven't you seen those YouTube videos?" Cisco said, "There are so many ways this can go—"

Barry threw back the shot.

"—wrong," Cisco finished, shaking his head, "Dude, you're insane."

Barry laughed and set his glass on the bar. The others all laughed and shook their heads at him before taking their _non-flaming_ Flash shots.

"Oh my God," Iris said, licking her lips, "That's amazing!"

Barry laughed and nodded.

"The fire caramelizes the sugars in the liquor, giving it a unique taste," he told her.

"Okay, this beats the Flash cappuccino by a long shot," Cisco said loudly, setting his glass on the bar.

Caitlin shook her head in amusement as she did the same. She had to admit, though, Flaming Flash Fireball shots were pretty damn good.

Although she was starting to loosen up, she still couldn't break out of worried doctor mode. She cast a nervous glance at Barry, who was finishing his old fashion in record time. He had already ordered another one, and the bartender was setting it on the bar.

Caitlin had a really bad feeling about tonight.

* * *

Two hours later, Caitlin was sitting next to Iris at the bar. Iris had her arms crossed and a sour look on her face. She was clearly not happy, and it didn't take a genius to figure out why.

"What about _her_?" Cisco slurred, pointing at a redhead on the other side of the bar.

"I went to high school with her," Barry laughed, knocking back another drink and signaling the bartender for another, "It would be weird."

Cisco laughed and shook his head.

"How 'bout _her_ then?" he smirked, pointing at a rather rough-looking woman leaning against the pool table.

"She has a face tattoo," Barry laughed, shaking his head, "No way."

"You're too picky, man," Cisco said, hiccupping slightly.

He had had a few too many tonight, thanks to Barry's insistence on repeatedly ordering shots for everyone. No one, however, had had anywhere near as much as Barry tonight. It seemed his fomepizole pills worked. Barry was more than a little intoxicated. He was hammered.

"I don't need a rebound, Cisco," Barry laughed, "I'm over Patty."

"Come on, man," Cisco giggled, "You've got the best wingman a guy can have. Take advantage of the opportunity."

Barry shook his head.

"I don't need a wingman," he said simply, "I can manage just fine on my own."

"Prove it," Cisco challenged, taking another sip of his drink.

Barry laughed and shook his head. His eyes then landed on an attractive blonde who was approaching the bar. A small smile formed on Barry's face.

"Okay, I will," he said, stumbling slightly as he stood up from his bar stool.

Cisco stared in shock as Barry walked confidently up to the girl at the bar. Caitlin saw Iris's hands clench into fists as Barry leaned up against the bar next to the girl and started talking.

"I think I'm going to head out," Iris told Caitlin then, grabbing her purse.

"Are you sure?" she asked sadly.

"Yeah," Iris huffed, "This isn't exactly how I wanted to spend my Friday night. I have a lot of work to catch up on this weekend."

"Okay," Caitlin said quietly, seeing right through Iris's excuse.

Iris glanced back at Barry again as she was slipping on her coat. He had his back to them as he talked to the woman, who was laughing loudly at something he said.

"I'll see you tomorrow," Iris said to Caitlin before walking out of the bar.

Caitlin sighed and shook her head as she looked at Barry's back.

"Barry, you're such a loveable idiot."

* * *

 **[1] Old fashions are mixed drinks that are only common in the area I live in. Most people from other parts of the country have never heard of them, but when I bartend in Wisconsin, almost every other drink I mix is an old fashion.**

 **[2] Fomepizole really would cause this effect in Barry. It would cause the alcohol to affect him without affecting the rest of his metabolism. I may have just found a way to get the Flash drunk.**

 **[3] Fireball and Rumchata make amazing shots, but they wouldn't actually set on fire in real life. Only certain liquors are pure enough for the ethanol in them to actually burn. Do** ** _not_** **try flaming shots in real life! They're super dangerous and only certified bartenders should ever attempt making them. If you do take flaming shots,** ** _blow them out_** **. I've seen a guy burn half his face, trying to show off. It's not worth the risk.**

 **I'm not in any way condoning underage drinking or risky behaviors with this fic.**


	4. It Could Have Been Worse

**Warning: Nongraphic adult themes. Barry is very OOC—but you know that already.**

* * *

 **It Could Have Been Worse**

* * *

Iris sighed as she walked into her dad's house. She hadn't slept very well last night. Granted, she never slept very well after drinking, but she knew it was for other reasons this time. She was trying hard not to think about those reasons as she walked through the living room and made her way to the kitchen.

It was only seven AM, and Iris wasn't expecting to find anyone in the kitchen, so she was surprised when she noticed the pair of slim legs poking out from behind the refrigerator door, long legs that trailed up to meet a pair of bright red panties.

Iris stared in shock as the blonde stood up straight, pulling a carton of juice from the fridge.

"Oh, hey," the woman said, "Orange juice?"

Iris didn't even look at the orange juice in the girl's hands. She was too busy taking in the plaid button-down shirt she was wearing. Barry's shirt. Iris stared at it in shock.

Barry— _Barry Allen_ —had had a one night stand. He had taken the girl from the bar home with him last night. Underneath the shock, Iris felt her heart clench painfully as the girl continued to smile at her, pouring herself a glass of juice.

Just then, Barry walked shamelessly into the kitchen, shirtless and wearing only a pair of gray sweatpants that hung dangerously low on his hips.

"Morning," he said tiredly, rubbing his eyes.

Iris stared at him in disbelief as he walked over to the girl and gratefully took the glass of orange juice she offered him, the two of them sharing the same glass. It was like Iris wasn't even in the room.

"I need some food," Barry groaned, "It's been a long time since I had to deal with a hangover this bad."

He smiled knowingly at Iris, but she didn't smile back. She just stood there, frozen in shock. Barry was acting like there was nothing wrong—like this situation was completely normal. Like Barry had sex with random girls all the time. Like the three of them weren't currently standing in her dad's kitchen, Barry and some blonde girl both wear two halves of one outfit. Seriously? Would it kill Barry to at least put a shirt on?

"I should get going," the girl sighed then, "My friends are probably all pissed at me for ditching them last night."

Barry laughed and a smug smile formed on his face.

"I told you I could convince you to leave," he smirked.

The girl laughed and shook her head.

"Well, you certainly did make it worth my while," she said in a sultry voice, "We'll have to do this again sometime."

She walked over to the notepad sitting on the counter and wrote down her number.

"Call me?" she asked, handing Barry the paper.

"Sure," Barry said in an amused voice.

The girl smiled and walked out of the room then, saying a quick 'bye' to Iris. Iris stared after her, her mind still trying to wrap itself around the situation she had walked in on. She blinked a few times and then looked at Barry, who, she was shocked to see, was tossing the girl's phone number haphazardly in the trash. He turned around and looked at her then.

"What?" he asked, raising his eyebrows.

Iris shook her head slowly at him, trying to reign in her confusing emotions.

"You certainly moved on from Patty fast," she said coldly.

Barry shrugged.

"Cisco was right," he said simply, "All I needed was a rebound."

"Cisco was _drunk_ , Barry," Iris snapped, the anger audible in her voice.

Barry raised his eyebrows at her.

"Are you upset?" he asked stupidly.

Iris opened and closed her mouth a few times, at a loss for words.

"I…of course not," she sputtered angrily, "You can sleep with whoever you want, Barry. I don't care."

"Good," Barry said pleasantly, "Because you have no reason to be upset. You're going on a date with that guy, right? Your boss?"

Iris was taken aback by these words. She had forgotten all about Scott. It was hard to admit, but Barry _did_ have a point, and even if she wasn't planning to go out with Scott, she really had no reason to be mad. She and Barry weren't dating, and they never _had_ dated. Barry was perfectly free to have sleazy one night stands with whoever he wanted, even if it was something Iris had never expected Barry would do. He wasn't the one night stand type of guy.

There was something very off about Barry right now.

* * *

Joe rubbed the tiredness from his eyes as he walked out of the upstairs bathroom. He had had a _very_ long night and desperately needed some coffee. As soon as he stepped out of the bathroom, though, he ran headlong into a complete stranger.

"Whoops," the young woman giggled, "Sorry."

The blonde quickly slipped into Barry's room, but not before Joe saw she was wearing _only_ Barry's plaid shirt.

That was something he could _never_ unsee.

A moment later, she reemerged from Barry's bedroom, wearing a strappy black dress and carrying a pair of high heels in one hand, her purse in the other. She brushed past Joe in a hurry and quickly disappeared down the stairs. Joe heard the front door close from downstairs shortly after that.

For a moment, all Joe could do was stand there in shock. Did that seriously just happen?

Joe gave himself a small shake and then made his way down the stairs, where he heard two familiar voices speaking to each other.

"Relax," Barry was saying, "I'm never going to see her again, so what does it matter?"

"That's the problem, Barry," Iris said in exasperation, "You didn't even _know_ her."

"Well, I certainly got to know her well enough," Barry said cockily, causing Joe to raise his eyebrows in shock as he listened.

He cautiously entered the kitchen to see his daughter standing there, her face contorted in rage and utter shock. She was opening and closing her mouth, at a complete loss for words.

"I've got to go," she finally said, storming out of the kitchen.

Joe could plainly see the hurt on his daughter's face.

"I'll see you later, dad," she said quietly to him as she walked past.

After the front door closed behind her, Joe turned back to Barry, who was shaking his head as he let out a small sigh.

"Women," he muttered to himself.

Joe quietly made his way over to the coffee maker to start brewing a himself a pot. Why couldn't he have just stayed in the bathroom five minutes longer?

After starting the coffee maker, he turned and looked at Barry, giving him one of his famous Joe West looks of disapproval.

"What?" Barry asked defensively.

"What the hell is going on, Barry?" Joe asked seriously.

Barry rolled his eyes.

"Geez, a guy can't get laid around here without everyone making it their business?" he asked in exasperation.

"First of all," Joe said seriously, "This is my house, and I don't exactly want to be woken up at four in the morning to the sound of someone screaming your name. I'll never be able to erase that from my mind."

Joe shuddered unpleasantly as he poured himself a cup of coffee.

"It could have been worse," Barry pointed out, completely unabashed, "It could have been your daughter in there with me last night. Would you have rather it been _Iris_ screaming my name?"

Joe nearly choked on his coffee. He coughed several times, staring at Barry in disbelief.

" _What_ did you just say to me?!" he demanded, stepping closer to Barry.

Barry smirked at him and shrugged.

"I'm just saying it could have been worse," he said simply, "My point is that unless it involves your daughter, my sex life is none of your business."

Joe opened and closed his mouth several times, at a loss for words.

"This _is_ my business, Barry," he finally said, his hands clenched into fists, "I tend to make it my business when someone is hurting my daughter."

Barry's eyes widened.

"I didn't _hurt_ her," he said defensively, "God, you guys are acting like I cheated on her or something. We're not even remotely dating, and no one made a big deal out of it when I was with Patty."

"This is different, Bar, and you know it," Joe said seriously, "This isn't like you. You wouldn't do this to Iris."

" _She_ broke _my_ heart, Joe," Barry snapped, " _She_ rejected _me_. Last year, she made the decision not to be with me. Don't go turning this around on me now. I'm not the bad guy here. We're both free to see whoever we want. I don't know why she cares, anyways. She's going on a date with her _boss_ this week."

Joe raised his eyebrows.

"I didn't know that," he said in surprise.

"Exactly," Barry said, rolling his eyes, "So, next time, be sure to get your facts straight before you go treating me like the world's biggest asshole."

Barry stormed out of the room then, leaving Joe alone in his kitchen. Joe let out a heavy sigh after Barry left.

These kids were going to be the death of him.

* * *

"Dude, how did things work out with that girl?" Cisco asked excitedly when Barry walked into STAR Labs, "Did you get her number?"

"I got a lot more than her number," Barry replied, leaving it at that, "Got any Flash stuff for me?"

"Wait," Cisco said seriously, "Go back a second. What do you mean? What happened after I left the bar last night?"

"Cisco, I'm sure you don't need me to explain how the birds and the bees work," Barry said impatiently.

Cisco's eyes widened.

"No way!" he nearly shouted, "You got lucky?!"

"I'm going to choose to ignore your tone of surprise," Barry said, rolling his eyes, "So…got any Flash stuff for me?"

"Are you going to see her again?" Cisco asked curiously, ignoring Barry's question.

"No," Barry clipped, walking over to the cortex computer to check the scanner, not saying another word.

Cisco raised his eyebrows.

"You're not?" he asked in confusion.

"Is that so hard to understand?" Barry asked condescendingly.

"Coming from you? Yes," Cisco said honestly, "Barry, you're not exactly the one-and-done kind of guy."

"I'm getting really sick of everyone telling me what kind of guy I am," Barry said irritably, "I'm an adult. I don't have to explain my sex life to anyone, so just drop it already, alright?"

Cisco furrowed his eyebrows at him in confusion.

"What's wrong?" he asked Barry quietly.

"Nothing's wrong," Barry snapped, "I had a good fucking time, and it that's that, so just drop it, okay?"

Cisco flinched slightly at Barry's harsh tone. Just then, Caitlin walked into the room, giving Barry a stern look.

"It's Iris, isn't it?" she asked him knowingly.

She had clearly overheard the better part of their conversation.

"This isn't about Iris," Barry snapped, "This is about people minding their own business. I woke up this morning feeling on top of the world, but now I'm just hungover and cranky, and I don't want to talk about it, so just drop it already. Now, _do you have any Flash stuff for me?_ "

Cisco and Caitlin both exchanged looks with each other.

"No," Cisco finally answered, "The city's been quiet."

"Okay," Barry said, nodding in satisfaction, "I'll see you guys later then."

"Where are you going?" Caitlin asked him.

"I've got some errands to run," Barry said vaguely, "I need to run and get an apology gift for Joe."

The other two gave him confused looks.

"An apology gift?" Cisco asked.

"I'm pretty sure I traumatized him last night," Barry muttered, "Either way, I have to go to the gas station to get him…something. Something to make it up to him."

"What on earth are you going to get from a _gas station_?" Caitlin asked, shaking her head at him in confusion.

"Don't worry about it," Barry said dismissively, "Just trust me, Joe's going to love it."

Without another word of explanation, Barry flashed out of the cortex, leaving the other two standing there in confusion.

Caitlin looked over at Cisco once he had left.

"Do you believe me _now_?" she asked seriously, "There's something seriously wrong with Barry."

* * *

 **Don't hold anything against Barry. He's not himself right now, and he's not in control of his actions.**


	5. White Elephant

**White Elephant**

* * *

Joe frowned in confusion when his eyes landed on the envelope sitting on the kitchen counter—an envelope that had his name written on it in Barry's handwriting. Joe hadn't seen Barry since yesterday morning. He had stayed out late on Flash duty and left early in the morning. If Joe didn't know any better, he'd say Barry was avoiding him.

Joe wasn't necessarily _mad_ at the young man. Barry had made a good point. He hadn't really done anything wrong. He and Iris weren't dating, and Joe couldn't really accuse him of messing with his daughter's feelings when Iris was going on a date with someone else. He could, however, hold it against him for the awkward night he had had on Friday. Joe had heard sounds coming from Barry's room that he never wanted to hear again. It still made him shudder to think about it.

Immensely curious to know what Barry had left for him, Joe opened the envelope immediately. The last thing he had expected to find in it was a small card with a set of numbers on it. Joe stared at it for a moment, his mouth going dry as he realized what it was. He felt a swoop of anxiety in his gut as he then noticed the newspaper that was sitting on the counter next to where the envelope had been. A small section of it had been circled in red marker with a small smiley face drawn next to it by Barry.

Joe stared at the numbers in the newspaper, comparing them to the lottery ticket in his hand. They were identical. He was holding a winning lottery ticket. His heart racing, Joe looked down at the jackpot listing in the paper.

5.8 million dollars.

What had Barry done?

* * *

"Barry, what the hell was that?" Caitlin demanded.

"What?" Barry asked innocently as he hung up his Flash suit.

"We said to drop him off at the police station," Cisco said, crossing his arms.

"I _did_ ," Barry said, a small grin forming on his face.

" _This_ ," Caitlin said turning her computer screen towards him, "Is not what we meant."

Barry laughed when his eyes landed on the image of a man dangling from flag pole by his underwear, right in front of the CCPD. Cisco and Caitlin, however, were not laughing. They were staring at Barry with serious looks on their faces.

"Oh, come on," Barry chuckled, "You have to admit, it's funny."

"Dude, what the hell were you thinking?" Cisco asked incredulously.

"He _wasn't_ thinking," Caitlin gritted, "That's the problem."

"Hey," Barry said defensively, "I'll have you know, I put a _lot_ of thought into it. I don't think you realize how complex the logistics were, trying to get him up there. Running up a flag pole isn't easy. It's like walking on a tightrope, except you're horizontal and you're running instead of walking. Not to mention the fact that I was carrying another person. You should be more impressed."

"Oh, bravo, Barry," Caitlin said sarcastically, "Good job. You created a mess for other people to clean up. I hope it was worth the laugh. You know the fire department had to be called to get him down?"

"Please," Barry scoffed, "Those guys needed something to do. It's not like they had any fires to put out."

"Barry, we need you to be serious for a moment," Cisco said, crossing his arms.

"I am," Barry insisted, "I swear, those guys in the fire department just sit around at the station all day. They put out one fire a month while everyone in the police department runs their asses off every day. Yet, firefighters are considered heroes while police officers are politically and publicly slandered for all the hard work they do. They risk their lives every day, and people hate them for it. It's disgusting."

Cisco and Caitlin both looked at each other. Barry's mood had suddenly taken a complete one-eighty, going from joking to dead serious in a matter of seconds. They had never known Barry to ever get political, which was why they found his outspokenness somewhat strange now. Granted, he worked for law enforcement, so it was understandable.

They're conversation was interrupted then when they all turned to see Joe storming into the cortex.

"Barry, what is _this_?" he demanded, holding up a small piece of paper.

A smile formed on Barry's face.

"You like it?" he grinned, "I thought I'd make it up to you for Friday night."

"Barry, what did you _do_?" Joe asked seriously.

Barry shrugged as Caitlin and Cisco looked at Joe in confusion. Why was he so upset?

"I made a quick run to the gas station," he said simply, "It was no big deal, Joe. No need to _thank_ me or anything."

"Barry, you _time traveled_ ," Joe accused seriously.

Cisco and Caitlin's eyes widened as they looked at Barry.

"You time traveled?" Caitlin asked curiously, "Why?"

"I only traveled ahead by a day," Barry said with a dismissive wave of his hand.

"Ahead?" Cisco asked, his eyes widening, "Barry, you went to the _future_?!"

"Yeah," Barry shrugged, "It was easy—the same as going to the past, really."

"What did you do?" Caitlin asked seriously.

"Not much," he said simply, "Just hung out for a bit…read a _newspaper_."

He winked at Joe then, a smug, satisfied smile on his face. Joe didn't smile back.

"Barry," he said, shaking his head, "I don't even know what to _think_ about this."

"What _is_ it?" Cisco asked impatiently, "I don't get it. You read a newspaper…?"

Joe walked forward and slapped the small paper he was holding onto the desk. Cisco and Caitlin looked at it curiously and quickly recognized it to be a _lottery ticket_.

"Oh my God," Caitlin said quietly, realizing what Barry had done.

"How much did you win?!" Cisco asked Joe with wide eyes.

"Five-point-eight _million_ dollars," Joe gritted, shaking his head at Barry.

"I don't understand why you're upset," Barry laughed, "Shouldn't you be popping open a champaign bottle right about now?"

Joe shook his head seriously at Barry.

"Bar, I can't believe you did this," he said quietly, "You cheated."

"It's not _cheating_ ," Barry scoffed, "It's…using my natural abilities. If I were a psychic and knew the numbers _that_ way, you wouldn't call it cheating. How is using my speed any different?"

"It…it just _is_ ," Joe said in a strained voice, "Bar, this is _wrong_."

"How is it wrong?" Barry asked, raising his eyebrows, "It's not as if I stole it from anyone."

"Bar, you _did_ steal it," Joe said seriously, "You stole it from whoever else would have won it."

"There was no winner," Barry said stubbornly, shaking his head, "Nobody else picked the right numbers."

"So the jackpot would have grown and gone into another round," Joe countered, "There would have been another winner eventually, Barry, and now you stole it from them, all so you could…make it up to me?"

Barry's eyes shifted down to the floor. Joe's eyebrows furrowed in thought as he looked at him.

"This is about more than just Friday night, isn't it?" he said softly.

Barry didn't answer. He opened and closed his mouth, still looking at the floor.

"Bar?" Joe pressed.

Barry sighed and looked up at him.

"Why can't you just take the money and say thank you?" he asked in exasperation, "Why do you have to question the morality of it and then demand a reason? Maybe I just wanted to do something nice for you, Joe. Maybe I just wanted to repay—"

Barry's lips suddenly clamped shut, and he still didn't look Joe in the eye. Joe stared at him in shock.

"Repay me," Joe said quietly, his hard expression softening, "Barry, you…you never have to repay me."

"Yes, I do," Barry said simply, "You fed me. You gave me a roof over my head and clothes to wear. You gave me a home when I had nothing. I _do_ have to repay you, Joe. Because I _want_ to. Don't go getting all sappy on me by making a bigger deal out of it than it is. It's not a big deal."

Joe shook his head at him.

"It's five-point-eight million dollars, Barry," he said seriously, "It _is_ a big deal. And while I appreciate the thought, I don't know if I can accept it. It would change the timeline, Bar. It's not right."

"It's a _future_ timeline," Barry insisted, "It's not the same as messing with the past."

"Sorry to say it, bro," Cisco said, "But it is."

Barry let out a heavy sigh and ran a hand over his face.

"So, you're just not going to claim it?" he asked Joe in exasperation, "You're not going to bring in the ticket?"

Joe gave him a sad smile.

"Sorry, Bar," he said, putting a hand on his shoulder, "I can't tell you how much I appreciate the thought, but I can't do it. You know why I can't. And you know you don't _ever_ have to repay me. You're my son. You don't owe me anything."

Barry sighed heavily and picked up the lottery ticket. He looked questioningly at Joe, who nodded firmly at him. Barry let out another sigh before ripping the five-point-eight million dollar ticket in half.

"I think a part of me just died inside," Cisco whined, staring heartbrokenly at the torn lottery ticket in Barry's hands.

Barry just laughed.

"Well, your birthday's coming up," he pointed out, "Maybe if our team gets rid of our annoying sense of self-righteousness by then, I'll get you another one—one with a _bigger_ jackpot."

Cisco grinned at him.

"Deal."


	6. Slut

**Slut**

* * *

Joe's steps faltered as he neared the CSI lab and heard the raised voices. Really, he couldn't believe he hadn't heard them sooner. Barry and the other man were arguing loud enough for the entire precinct to hear.

"I don't know who you think you are, Allen, ordering _me_ around," Detective Dilloshaw was saying angrily, "Why don't you get the damn shoes yourself?! Collecting evidence is _your_ job."

"From crime scenes, maybe," Barry replied calmly, "Not from suspects' homes. Obtaining warrants is _your_ job, Dilloshaw, so I suggest you do it."

"I obtain warrants when it's _warranted_ ," the detective spat, "What makes you think you're so right about this guy, Allen? I already stated in my report that he isn't a suspect."

"I'm a trained observer," Barry said simply, "I know a guilty man when I see one. And frankly, Jeff, you're always too quick when it comes to naming your suspects. You take short cuts and go with the easiest scenario to explain the case, and because of it, that poor kid is going to end up in jail for six months for a robbery he didn't commit."

"Poor kid," Dilloshaw scoffed, "There were two guys at the scene: a twenty-three-year-old with a criminal history that includes robbery and a forty-eight-year-old with a full-time job and a spotless record. It's obvious who did it."

"And said twenty-three-year doesn't have a history of being the brightest crayon in the box," Barry said arrogantly, "I find it hard to believe the kid was smart enough to take out the surveillance cameras before robbing the place. The older man, however…"

"So, you're basing your investigation on _intelligence_?" the older detective asked impatiently.

"No, I'm basing this on _evidence_ ," Barry snapped, "The shoe prints at the scene match a pair of men's Florsheim Castellano wing tip dress shoes. I highly doubt a low-income twenty-three-year-old kid was wearing shoes like that."

"This isn't Scooby-fucking-Doo," the detective said angrily, "Shoe prints? Really, Allen? You're going off of _shoe prints_?"

"Are you a forensics expert, Dilloshaw?" Barry asked condescendingly, "Why don't you leave the evidence analysis to the expert then? You go to Horace Brigham's house, and I guarantee you'll find a pair of these shoes in his closet. So why don't you stop arguing and just go collect the damn evidence I tell you to?"

"Because I don't take orders from a twenty-six-year-old lab rat," the detective snapped, "You're not always right about everything, Allen."

"Name one time I was wrong," Barry challenged, " _One_ time. Just one."

A long pause stretched out between the CSI and the detective. When there was no reply, Barry's voice grew smug as he continued.

"You might think of me as some young lab rat," he said, "But I solve every case I'm given, and I solve them _right_. I don't take short cuts and send the wrong people to that courtroom. I take laziness in policework very seriously, Dilloshaw, and the only thing worse than letting the bad guy get away is sending an innocent man to prison for something he didn't do. I'm sure I don't need to explain to you why I take that personally.

"So, stop trying to wrap up the case without fully investigating it. I'm not putting up with self-important pricks like you anymore. I don't work for you. I work for the department, and as much as we _both_ dislike it, we're stuck working with each other. Don't think because I'm young and I'm nice that you can just push me around. I _will_ go to the captain if I see someone cutting corners just to close a case. Get a damn warrant, get me that guy's shoes, and then stay the hell out of my lab. I'm trying to actually _work_ here."

There was a long, shocked pause before the detective finally spoke.

"I'll be telling the rest of the force about this, Allen," he said coldly.

"Please do," Barry replied calmly, "Tell them I'm done cleaning up their messes. They can call me an asshole or a lab rat all they want, so long as the cases get done _right_."

Detective Dilloshaw didn't have anything to say to that. A long, silent pause stretched out between them before the door of the lab suddenly opened. Joe stared in shock as the angry detective brushed past him, hardly even paying him a moment's glance.

Joe gave himself a small shake before tentatively poking his head into the lab. He had never really seen Barry get into an argument with one of their coworkers before. He had seen him get chewed out by Singh and teased by quite a few of them, but he had never seen this kind of conflict from Barry. Joe expected Barry to be shaken or at least somewhat frazzled by the confrontation, but he wasn't.

In fact, he was quite the opposite.

When Joe tentatively entered the lab, it was to find that Barry had calmly sat back down at his desk, working on his reports like always, as if nothing had happened.

"Do I even want to know what that was all about?" Joe asked seriously as he approached Barry's desk.

Barry shrugged.

"Just workplace drama," he said simply, "Nothing to worry about."

Joe frowned at him.

"What's gotten into you?" he asked in confusion.

Barry just shook his head.

"Nothing," he replied, "Just sick of letting people walk all over me. I'm done being used over and over again by people who don't appreciate me. Besides, aren't you the one always telling me to stand up for myself?"

"I guess," Joe muttered, still taken aback by Barry's aloof attitude.

Before Joe could say anything else, they were suddenly interrupted by the appearance of Officer Liddell.

"Hey, Allen?" Liddell said in a strange voice, a confused look on his face, "There's someone down in the lobby…demanding to see you."

Joe and Barry both exchanged confused looks before moving towards the door to the lab. They followed the other officer down the stairs to the main lobby area of the CCPD. As they were descending the stairs, they instantly heard the commotion that was going on below.

"Miss, if you don't calm down, I'm going to have to have officers escort you off the premises," Singh was saying seriously to a young woman.

She wasn't paying attention to him, though. As soon as her eyes zoned in on Barry at the foot of the stairs, she brushed past the captain like he wasn't even there.

" _Barry Allen_ ," she gritted angrily as she stormed up to him.

"Hey," Barry grinned, leaning up against the railing next to the stairs.

SMACK

The young woman slapped Barry so hard, it could be heard around the entire lobby, which had now gone silent as all their coworkers turned to look at them, watching the scene unravel.

"Jesus!" Barry gasped, rubbing the side of his face, "The hell was that for?!"

"Why didn't you call me?!" the blonde demanded.

Barry raised his eyebrows at her. Before he could say anything, she continued.

"What do you take me for? Some kind of floozy?!" she shouted, "Like you just get to sleep with me and then never call me back?!"

"Miss," Singh said calmly, stepping behind her to put a hand on her shoulder, "I don't think you realize you're in a _police station_ right now. I can't have you coming in here, making a scene and assaulting one of my CSI's."

She didn't back down, though. She just impatiently swatted the captain's hand away from her shoulder.

"How'd you even know where I _work_?" Barry asked her, raising his eyebrows.

He didn't even seem the slightest bit embarrassed at being called out like this in front of his coworkers. If anything, Barry seemed…amused.

"It wasn't exactly difficult," the blonde snorted, rolling her eyes, "How many Bartholomew Allens are there in Central City—or the _world_ for that matter?"

"Yeah, I guess you're right," Barry laughed, "I'm one of a kind."

The young woman didn't laugh, though. She glared venomously at Barry.

"Yes, you most certainly are," she gritted.

"Oh, come on," Barry rolled his eyes, "Will you just calm down? I lost your number, okay? I was going to call you back, but I lost it. My bad."

She didn't lighten up at these words, though. She just glared at Barry, shaking her head slowly.

"Miss," Singh said, stepping forward again with a confused side glance at Barry, "You really need to leave now."

"Don't worry, I'm leaving," she snapped at Singh, "I won't waste any more of my time on a player like him."

She turned to Barry then, giving him a look that would make most men crumble. Barry, however, didn't bat an eyelash.

"You, Barry Allen," she gritted, "are a slut."

With that, she turned on her heal and stormed out of the precinct. After she disappeared through the main entrance, all eyes turned to Barry.

You could've heard a pin drop in the CCPD.


	7. Who's Scarlet Now?

**Note, this is not a slash fic. Not that I'm opposed to male-male pairings, but this fic follows canon, and Barry is straight. I like to read the occasional Coldflash fic sometimes, but I also think there aren't enough fics where Barry and Len interact in a normal, non-romantic way. I just didn't want anyone to mistake their interactions in this chapter for flirting. They're just frenemies in this story.**

 **This chapter is the reason I wrote this story. I've wanted to write this specific scene since season one. I've been dying to see it ever since I found fanfiction, but no one ever wrote it. I'm super glad now that I did because it hints at a rare pairing I've always wanted to see.**

 **Warning: Strong language and non-graphic adult themes**

* * *

 **Who's Scarlet Now?**

* * *

Len was just itching to pull a heist. Ever since getting sprung from prison, he had been dying to start planning a job. He had promised Lisa he wouldn't, though. She didn't want to see him get put away by the Flash again.

Len wasn't too worried about that, though. Barry had only put him away the first time because Len had killed his own father. Len knew Barry wouldn't put him away for a simple heist. Barry didn't have the balls. Nevertheless, Len had reluctantly agreed to be a good boy for the time being, for Lisa's sake.

In Len's case, being good meant hanging out at Saints and Sinners, getting drunk off his ass. Granted, Lisa didn't want him hanging out at this bar anymore either. She thought it was a bad influence on him. He didn't care, though. He had taken a break from pulling heists for her. Getting drunk at Saints and Sinners wasn't a big deal by comparison.

Little did he know, that would be difficult for him tonight. Len had only taken a sip of his first drink when he looked over and saw something that made him nearly spit his drink out in surprise.

Barry Allen, of all people, was on the other side of the room.

Barry had come to Saints and Sinners before, of course. He only came here, though, when he needed to speak with Len about something—or more like beg him to do something for him. For a moment, Len thought that's what this was. He thought Barry had just come crawling here to ask him for another favor. Maybe to give him another obnoxious speech about how there's good inside him.

He quickly realized, though, that that wasn't the case. For one thing, Barry wasn't approaching him. For another, Len had only just got here, and Barry looked like he had been here for a while. He was currently by the pool table, playing a game with Tito Scorsese, a regular at Saints and Sinners. Len didn't know Tito well. He had met him briefly in Iron Heights once when they were in the same cell block together. Len knew one thing, though.

Tito wasn't exactly the type of company Barry usually kept.

Looking closer at the pair, Len could easily see they weren't exactly friendly with each other. In fact, Tito looked rather pissed off as he watched Barry sink another corner pocket shot. They must have been playing for money. Tito rarely ever played just for kicks, and he wouldn't look nearly this pissed off if he wasn't currently losing a game he had put a significant amount of money on.

Tito was easy to read. Barry, however, was much harder. What the hell was he doing here?! Why would a goody-two-shoes like him be hanging out in a grimy low-life bar like this? Why would he place a bet against Tito, a guy twice his size who looked like he breaks knee-caps for a living? Len knew Barry could take care of himself, but still, it was like he was _looking_ for a fight.

And then Barry smirked at him.

As Barry was leaning over the pool table, lining up a shot, he suddenly looked up at Len and _smirked_. That was when Len realized.

Barry _was_ looking for a fight. Just not with Tito.

Len's hands clenched into fists. Barry had come here on purpose. He had come here, to _this_ bar, in _Len's_ territory, for a reason. He was making a statement, a rather aggressive one.

He was challenging Len.

Len took another large sip of his drink, his eyes narrowing as he looked at Barry, measuring him up. He wasn't going to rise to the challenge yet. First, he was going to read the kid, figure out what the hell his end game was here.

Why would Barry suddenly want to pick a fight with him? Because Len broke out of prison? If that were the case, the kid could just run him back to Iron Heights if it bothered him so much. Barry wouldn't play these mind games. That wasn't exactly his M.O.

Maybe Barry just needed to let off some steam. The kid had just had his ass kicked by that one dark speedster, after all. He had been out of commission for a good week because of it. Maybe after healing from that fight, Barry was itching to fight someone he could actually compete with, someone without his powers.

Or maybe Len was just reading too much into it. Maybe Barry wasn't here for him at all, which led Len back to his first question. Why here? Why this bar? Why would Barry—?

And then the little shit smirked at him again.

Okay. Barry was definitely here to start something. Barry didn't look away this time. He continued to smirk at Len as he raised his glass up to his lips, taking a long drink of his beer without breaking eye contact. Barry was trying to get a rise out of him. He was watching him, waiting to see how he'd react to him intruding in his bar.

What the actual fuck? _Why_?! What the hell was this kid's problem?! Why was Barry doing this?!

The more Len sat there, watching Barry play pool, the more pissed off he became. He wasn't going to rise, though. Nope. He would just sit here. He wasn't going to play Barry's game. Barry was probably dying for him to come over and confront him right now, which was exactly why Len wasn't going to do anything. He would just sit here. Keep a cool head. Let the kid come to him.

Then again, if he just sat here, allowing Barry free reign over his territory, what did that say about him? It would make Barry think he could do whatever the hell he wanted. Len couldn't just sit here. He couldn't just let it slide. He wasn't some pushover for the kid to toy with.

Shit.

What was he supposed to do?! Why was Barry doing this?! Why was Len letting it bother him so much?! The stupid kid's presence shouldn't have him this upset. So what if Barry was here? Len didn't have to let it spoil his night. He didn't have to let Barry get under his skin. He should _not_ be this upset right now.

Len knew why he was upset, though. He was upset because he couldn't make any sense of it. Len needed to have an explanation for everything at all times, and right now, he had no explanation for Barry's behavior. He didn't understand Barry at all, and that bothered him. It bothered him a lot.

Barry was throwing him for a loop, and that pissed Len off.

" _Lenny!"_

Len jerked his head away from Barry to see his sister sitting in the bar stool next to him. When the hell did she get here?!

"Not now, sis," Len said shortly, turning his head back to look at Barry again.

Barry had gone back to his game, sinking another ball as Tito glared at him.

"What are you doing here?" Lisa demanded, "I thought you said you were done with this place."

"No, I said I was done with _heists_ ," Len said calmly, "Not alcohol."

Even though Len wasn't looking at her, he could tell Lisa was rolling her eyes.

"You know _alcohol_ isn't the reason I don't want you coming here anymore," she pouted, "The people here are a bad influence on you. All your old prison buddies and criminals. I thought you were done with all this."

"It's just a drink, Lisa," Len glowered, "I'm not here to reconnect with old rogues. I'm just trying to enjoy a drink in _peace_."

"Is that why you're glaring at peach fuzz over there?" Lisa asked, raising an eyebrow.

"What?" Len snapped, looking back at her.

Lisa tilted her head towards Barry.

"You've been glaring at that guy since I walked in," she said, "I said your name four times before you even noticed I was here."

"I wasn't _glaring_ ," Len corrected defensively, "I was just…"

"You were glaring," Lisa persisted, "Now, are you going to tell me why? Or am I going to have to guess?"

Len looked away from her and took a sip of his drink.

"Drop it, Lis," he said flatly.

"Does he owe you money?" Lisa asked curiously, "Did he rat you out? Steal from you? Kick your dog?"

"I don't have a dog," Len said, rolling his eyes.

"Well, the kid clearly did _something_ to piss you off, Lenny," Lisa said, a hint of amusement in her voice.

"He didn't _do_ anything," Len snapped, "He's just an annoying little shit who rubs me the wrong way. He only came into this bar tonight to get under my skin."

Len took another sip of his drink, setting it back down on the bar a little harder than intended, causing some of it to spill out. He looked at Lisa to see she was smirking at him, her face not too far off from how Barry's had been when he looked at him.

"What?" Len snapped.

"It's working," Lisa shrugged.

"What?" he demanded.

"It's working," she repeated simply, "He's getting under your skin. I haven't seen you this worked up in a long time."

"I'm not worked up," Len gritted, glancing back at Barry again.

Barry wasn't looking at him now, but he had a small smile on his face as he sank his final ball, winning the game.

"I'm just waiting to see this kid get his ass kicked," Len said, smirking as he took a sip of his drink, watching to see how this would play out.

Tito looked like he was ready to kill the kid as Barry grabbed the stack of cash they had set on the edge of the pool table before starting their game. Barry walked away from the table without another word, cash in hand. Tito wasn't going to stand for it, though. He quickly made to follow Barry. It didn't work out too well for him, though, because after taking just a few steps, Tito suddenly face-planted it in the middle of the bar.

Someone had tied his shoe-laces together.

Barry didn't even look back as he walked away from Tito, who was now cursing and drunkenly struggling to untie his shoes. No. Barry was looking at Len, the smirk staying firmly planted on his face as he strolled up to the bar where Len was sitting.

"Hey, Snowflake," Barry greeted him, raising a hand up to signal the bartender, "You should take a picture. It'll last longer."

Len gaped at him for a moment. For the first time in his life, he was at lost for words. Len quickly rearranged his facial expression, giving Barry a blank look.

"I wasn't staring," he said flatly.

"Right," Barry smirked as the bartender set three shots of Jack on the bar, "That's why your face is as red as a lobster. Who's _Scarlet_ now, Cold?"

Len gritted his teeth in anger, his hands curling into fists.

"What are you doing here, _Barry_?" he growled.

Barry held up a finger, signaling him to wait as he quickly threw back all three shots on the bar, one right after another.

"Thanks, Phil," Barry said to the bartender.

"No problem, Bar," Phil said as he walked away.

Len looked back and forth between the two of them, his face screwed up in confusion.

"How do you know _Phil_?" he demanded.

Barry shrugged.

"I'm just a social person," he said simply, "I like to meet new people."

Barry looked at Lisa then and raised an eyebrow, a small smile playing at the corners of his lips.

"Speaking of meeting new people," he smirked, "What's your name, cutie?"

Len's eyes widened. What the hell was Barry doing?! He knew exactly who she was and that she was Len's sister, even if the two of them had never officially met before. At least, not without the mask.

"Lisa Snart," his sister giggled, reaching out for a handshake.

Barry shook his head.

"Nah, I don't do handshakes," he chuckled, "I'm a hugger."

Len's breath hitched in his throat when Barry pulled his sister in for a big hug. The fucker _winked_ at him over Lisa's shoulder! Len's grip on his glass tightened so hard, he thought the glass might break.

"You want to join me for a game of pool, Lisa?" Barry asked when they broke apart, "Just for fun. No bets or anything."

"I don't know," Lisa said, a playful smile working itself onto her face, "You just beat Tito in a game, and he's the best player in here. I'm not the greatest, myself."

"Nah, it's easy," Barry laughed, "It's all physics. I'll teach you."

Lisa's smile widened.

"Okay, then," she giggled.

Len stared at them as they walked over to the pool table. If he wasn't in shock he probably would have said something. He was too confused, though. What was Barry trying to do?! Did he _want_ Len to knock his lights out?! Because that's where this was quickly heading. Seriously?! His _sister_?!

Coming into to his bar was one thing, but openly flirting with his sister right in front of him was another. Barry was asking for it.

Len gritted his teeth when he saw Barry lean over Lisa, teaching her how to shoot. He could see the satisfied smile on his sister's face as Barry leaned over her. She knew exactly what she was doing right now. She knew damn well how to play pool and certainly didn't need _Barry Allen_ to teach her. Len hated _both_ of them right now.

They were both doing this on purpose. Lisa was trying to punish him for coming out tonight, and Barry was—

 _Barry was touching his sister's ass!_

Len saw red and nearly jumped out of his seat when he saw Barry's hand gently graze over his sister's ass as he was leaning over her.

He was going to kill him. He was going to kill Barry. Freeze him into a million tiny, little frozen Flash parts.

Barry knew how protective Len was over his sister. He knew laying a hand on her would be a death sentence. Still, Barry continued to lean over her, his hand running along her hip as he showed her how to line up a shot.

They would never find the body.

Len was just about to go over to them to break it up, but then Lisa giggled, and Len was reminded.

They were _trying_ to get a rise out of him. Well, he wouldn't fall for it. Nope. Instead of going over to the pool table to slug Barry in the jaw, Len went to the men's room. He made his way over to the sink and splashed some water in his face.

"Calm down," he said to himself, "It's just Barry fucking Allen."

He didn't have to worry about Barry. Barry was a boy scout. He wouldn't actually make a move at Lisa. The kid was in love with that one reporter chick, and he was a hopeless romantic. Besides, Barry didn't have the balls to make a move with someone like Lisa. He could never handle her. She would eat him alive.

When Len exited the bathroom, resuming his cool, unaffected façade, he quickly saw how true that statement really was. Lisa _was_ eating Barry alive. Or at least, Barry's face. Len stood there in shock as he watched Lisa sitting on top of the pool table, Barry pressing closer to her as they sucked face like they were the only two people in the room.

For a moment, all Len could do was just stand there in shock, watching Barry Allen make out with his sister.

And then any semblance of calm went out the window. Len hardly even registered crossing the room. One minute, he was standing outside the men's room, and the next, he was grabbing Barry by the collar and roughly ripping him away from his sister. Before Barry could even say anything, Len slammed his fist into Barry's face.

Len knew Barry could have dodged it easily, but he didn't for some reason. Instead, he took the hit. Barry still had a smile on his face as he spit out blood.

"Something wrong, _Lenny_?" he smirked.

"You're lucky I don't have my cold gun with me," Len growled lividly, "Or I'd turn your dick into a fucking popsicle right now, Allen."

"Lenny!" Lisa yelled, hopping down off the pool table to stand between them, "Back off! He didn't do anything wrong!"

"Seriously, Lisa?!" Len said incredulously to her, " _Him_?!"

"Yes, him," Lisa said calmly, "I'm a grown woman, Lenny, and I can go home with whoever I want."

"You—" Len sputtered, "You are _not_ going home with him, Lisa!"

"Watch me," Lisa smirked.

She then grabbed Barry by the arm and strolled out of the bar with him. Len watched them leave with wide eyes, his mind short-circuiting as it tried to process what had just happened.

* * *

As soon as they were outside, Barry and Lisa finally let themselves burst into laughter.

"When do you think he's going to figure out it's April Fools Day?" Barry choked.

Lisa laughed and shook her head.

"How'd you even know he'd be here tonight?" she asked.

"Cisco," Barry answered with a shrug, "I didn't tell him why I wanted him to vibe your brother, though, or why I asked him to give me your number. He's probably just as confused as _Lenny_ right now."

Lisa giggled and shook her head again.

"Well, it was definitely worth it," she choked, "I haven't seen Len that upset in years."

"Thank you for meeting me," Barry grinned, "You pulled that off beautifully."

"Oh, that kiss was very real, Barry," Lisa smirked, "Let me know if you ever want to mess with my brother again. I wouldn't mind taking things a little further next time, if you know what I mean."

Lisa winked at him before walking over to her motorcycle.

"See you around, Bar."

* * *

 **For the record, Cisco was dating Kendra at this point in the show, so Barry wasn't being a total asshole in this chapter. I've been dying to write a little GoldFlash scene since season one, even if it was sort of fake.**


	8. House Warming

**Warning: Underage drinking**

 **I am in no way encouraging underage drinking or risky behavior with this fic.**

 **Note: This is in season two. Wally doesn't know about Barry's powers, and the two of them aren't very friendly with each other yet.**

* * *

 **House Warming**

* * *

"Man, I don't know about this," Wally said nervously to his friend, "After all that street-racing stuff, I'm kind of on thin ice with my dad."

"It's just a _party_ , Wall," Luke said, rolling his eyes, "This is what normal college students do on a Saturday night."

"Yeah, but I turn twenty-one in less than three months," Wally sighed, "How stupid would it be if the party got busted and I got an underage right now?"

"So? You're going to just not drink for three whole months then?" Luke asked incredulously.

"Good point," Wally laughed, "I'm just saying, this party had better be low-profile or I'm out."

"Fair enough," Luke shrugged and then pointed to the left, "This is the driveway here."

The house was on the outskirts of Central City, in one of the nicer neighborhoods—not the typical party zone for CCU students. Both boys gasped when they pulled up to the house.

"This is _not_ low profile," Wally hissed.

"Yeah, but it's a _mansion_!" Luke exclaimed, "You're not seriously going to pass up the opportunity to party in a _mansion_ , are you?"

Wally glanced up at the house. It was _huge_ , and so was the party. Hundreds of people had to be filling the residence, judging by the number of people outside the house alone. The front side of the house was made almost entirely of windows, so Wally could see the party inside. The glass windows vibrated menacingly with the beat of the music, which was so loud, Wally had been able to hear it from the end of the driveway

"Whose house is this?" Wally asked curiously.

"It _was_ Harrison Wells' before he died," Luke explained, "Apparently, the sick fuck went and left everything to that guy whose mom he murdered, like to _tease_ him or something. I don't know. It just seems so wrong to me. I think his name was Larry or something. No, it was Jerry. Something like that. Either way, this party looks dope! Let's go inside!"

Wally had a bad feeling about the whole situation, but he couldn't deny, he was curious. This seemed like it was going to be a pretty interesting night, and it wasn't until he was in the house, a solo cup in his hand, that he realized just how interesting it was going to get.

"Hey, everyone!" someone shouted.

The music suddenly stopped, and everyone looked up at the man who had shouted. There, standing up in the loft upstairs with a huge grin on his face was…

"B-barry?!" Wally choked, beer drippling down the front of his shirt.

Barry didn't hear him, though. He continued grinning widely as he addressed the house full of people.

"Welcome to my house-warming party," he laughed, taking a sip of his beer, "Now, no one has to worry about the cops tonight. One of them owed me a favor, and let's just say they won't be bugging us. So feel free to make as much noise as you want!"

Everyone in the crowd cheered loudly at these words. Wally simply ogled at Barry, completely dumbstruck. He was in Barry's house? Barry's _mansion_?! Why was Barry still living with Joe if he owned this place?!

"As many of you know," Barry continued, his voice growing serious, "This house belonged to the bastard who killed my mother."

Everyone in the house suddenly grew silent as tension filled the room. Wally stared at Barry with wide eyes.

"So feel free to break whatever you want!" Barry shouted.

Everyone cheered as the music started up again. As people danced around him, Wally stood frozen in shock. His dad had told him Barry's mother was murdered, and he had heard about Harrison Wells confessing to a murder after his death, but he had had no idea the two were related.

Harrison Wells was responsible for Barry's family tragedy?

"Dude," Luke's voice suddenly broke through his haze of shock, "What's wrong?"

Wally turned to his friend, a dumbstruck look on his face.

"I know him," he said in shock.

"Who?" Luke asked, frowning in confusion, "Jerry?"

"His name is Barry," Wally corrected seriously, "Barry Allen, as in my new _foster brother_ , Barry Allen. The one I told you about."

Luke's eyes widened, and then a laugh escaped his lips.

"I thought you said he was a total spaz."

"I did," Wally said, frowning and looking back up to where Barry had been standing, "At least, I thought he was."

"He seems pretty cool to me," Luke shrugged, taking a sip of his beer.

Wally frowned at him.

"We should go," he said seriously, "If Barry sees me here, he'll narc on me to my dad for sure."

"No, he won't," Luke said, rolling his eyes, "If he does, then you can just narc on him. Your dad's a cop, right? How do you think he'd feel about his son throwing a huge party with a bunch of underage kids? Your brother—"

" _Foster_ brother," Wally corrected in irritation.

"Right. Your _foster_ brother has a lot more to lose here than you do," Luke pointed out, "You said he worked for the cops, right? I'm pretty sure he'd probably lose his job if anyone found out about this. You have the upper hand here."

Wally raised his eyebrows, his wheels turning as he took a sip of his beer. His friend had a point. He had some serious dirt on Barry now. That is, if anyone would believe him. His dad and Iris seemed to think Barry could do no wrong. He was perfect, the golden child who never broke the rules.

Just wait until they heard about this.

"Sup, Wally?"

Wally jolted out of his train of thought and turned to see Barry standing there, a beer in hand.

"Glad you could make it," Barry grinned.

"I didn't know this was your party," Wally said stiffly, "Or your _house_."

"Yeah, I've been wallowing over it for months," Barry laughed, "Ever since that sicko left it to me, I haven't known what to do with it. I've decided to stop sulking like a baby and finally use it. I had half a mind to torch it, but this seemed like the better option."

"I didn't know Wells was the one who killed your mother," Wally said seriously.

"Well, I don't exactly lead with that when I meet new people," Barry dismissed.

Wally nodded thoughtfully.

"Yeah, well," he said slowly, "I should probably get going."

Wally set down his beer and gave his friend, Luke, a significant look. He just wanted to get the hell out of here.

"Relax, Wally," Barry laughed, "I'm not going to tell Joe you were here."

"Well, you can't anyways," Wally pointed out seriously, "If you did, you'd have to explain to him how you threw an underage party."

Barry laughed and shook his head.

"It's not a secret," he chuckled, "Of course Joe is going to find out about it. Besides, not everyone here is underage. Half the people here are out of college and are closer to _my_ age than yours. Either way, I'm not going to tell your dad on you."

"Why not?" Wally demanded in irritation.

Barry had to be messing with him or something. Of course he was going to tell his dad on him.

"Because I'm not as much of a stickler as you think," Barry said seriously, "Also, for real, Wally, I'm twenty-six years old. I'm a little too old for the childish alpha-male games you've been trying to play with me. I understand why you're doing it, but I'm not going to participate. I know you're only doing it because you're insecure."

Wally stared incredulously at him.

"I'm not insecure," he said gritted, "I think you're taking yourself just a little too seriously, _Barry_."

Barry shrugged.

"Okay," he said calmly, "Maybe I'm just imagining it then. Either way, maybe now you'll see that I'm not as _perfect_ as you think. I make mistakes— _big_ mistakes. I'm as messed up as they come, and the only reason Joe and Iris talk about me the way they do is because they think I'm a broken, fragile flower. I've always just been their charity case. You, on the other hand, are their blood. You don't have to worry about some _white shadow_ taking your place."

Wally stared at him, a hint of guilt swirling in his gut at those words. His dad and Iris wouldn't have told Barry about that, so how did he…?

"I overheard you at the precinct," Barry told him calmly, "I was going to help Joe give you the tour. I was actually kind of excited to show you my lab, since I had heard you were interested in science. But then I heard you talking…."

Barry let out a heavy sigh.

"I'm not going to lie," he said, "I've been avoiding you ever since. Joe's been forcing us to spend time together, but I seriously don't know what to say to you ever. I'm done avoiding you, though. I'm done putting up with your petty challenges. The way I see it, we can either try to just put up with each other and coexist or we can actually try to get to know each other. I'm always going to be around, Wally, so you can either leave my party now and run to tell Joe on me, or you can stay here and take a few shots with me. The choice is yours."

Wally stared at him, at a loss for words. He hadn't expected Barry to ever call him out like this. Barry had always been more soft-spoken, too polite to instigate a confrontation like this. Wally couldn't deny it, though. He _had_ been competing with Barry for Joe and Iris's love, but it wasn't something he was ever going to admit. The truth was, it always frustrated Wally that he tried so hard and Barry didn't seem to try at all. Barry didn't ever compete back. He constantly one-upped Wally without even trying. It was infuriating.

That wasn't Barry's fault, though. Barry didn't ask for Joe and Iris's praise all the time. In fact, judging by his "charity" comment, he seemed to somewhat resent it. If Wally didn't know any better, he'd almost say Barry felt like he didn't belong there—in their family.

Maybe he and Barry weren't so different after all.

"Okay," Wally said quietly after a moment, "Line up some shots."


	9. Flash Mobile

**Flash Mobile**

* * *

"I'm telling you," Barry slurred, "Piston IC engines are _not_ obsolete. They're the future."

"They're old school," Wally insisted, taking another swig of whiskey, "The Wankel Rotary engine has a much better weight-to-power ratio."

Barry stubbornly shook his head, throwing back another shot. Wally raised his eyebrows. He had lost count over how many shots Barry had taken at this point, but it seemed excessive.

"Not if you adjust the valve timing of a piston engine," Barry argued, "Ferrari just developed several dynamic valves that drastically improve the weight-to-power ratio, making them _better_ than rotary engines."

"Ferrari," Wally huffed, "Didn't realize we were talking Italian cars here."

"Got something against Italian cars?" Barry asked, raising an eyebrow.

"No," Wally shrugged, "Just not a huge fan of Ferrari."

"I guess it's a good thing I didn't buy a Ferrari then," Barry chuckled.

Wally raised his eyebrows.

"You bought a car?"

Barry nodded and took another swig of Maker's Mark.

"Wanna see it?" he grinned.

"Um…Yes!" Wally nearly shouted.

Barry grinned at him.

"Come with me," he said, standing up from the couch, "The garage is this way."

The two of them maneuvered their way through Barry's house, which was now so packed full of people it had to be over ninety degrees. People were starting to get more rowdy as the night wore on. Drinks were being spilled, bottles were being broken, and people were raiding Barry's liquor cabinets for his top shelf booze. None of this seemed to phase Barry, though, as they walked through the house. He seemed completely at ease.

When he and Barry entered the garage, Wally's heart nearly stopped.

"No way," he gasped when his eyes landed on the car, "Is that a—?!"

"Lamborghini sixty-six," Barry laughed, "Just got it yesterday."

"Wells didn't leave this to you?" Wally asked, not tearing his eyes away from the car.

"God, no," Barry laughed, "He may have been rich, but he had shitty taste in cars."

"So you _bought_ this?" Wally asked, " _How_?"

Barry laughed and shrugged.

"I have my ways," he said vaguely.

Wally tore his eyes away from the car to give Barry a skeptical look.

"You're a CSI," he said, "How the hell did you afford this?"

Barry laughed and shook his head.

"The same way I manage to pay taxes on this stupid mansion," he chuckled, "I use my brain."

Wally furrowed his eyebrows as he turned back to the car, not satisfied with Barry's vague answer.

"You're not drag-racing, are you?" Wally joked.

Barry laughed.

"No," he chuckled, "Nothing illegal. I work for the CCPD, remember?"

Wally laughed and shook his head.

"That's too bad," he joked, "This car would be _sick_ in a drag race."

Barry laughed.

"Well, if you promise not to race in it, I'll let you drive it sometime," he said, "Sometime when we're not both drunk."

Wally tore his gaze away from the car to look at Barry, his eyes wide.

"Seriously?"

"Of course," Barry shrugged, "We're family, after all."

Wally couldn't help the small smile that formed on his face with these words.

"You know," he said slowly, "I always wanted a brother. Granted, I wanted a _little_ brother, but still…"

"Guess you'll have to settle for an older one," Barry chuckled, ruffling Wally's hair.

Wally swatted Barry's hand away and rolled his eyes.

"Well, if we're brothers, then I can be honest with you," Wally laughed, "I would have gone with yellow. Yellow Lamborghinis are classic."

Barry laughed and looked down at the car, a small smile forming on his face.

"I have an affinity for red."

* * *

"Where is he?" Joe muttered, looking at his watch.

"Late as always," Iris sighed.

"Still," Cisco said, "This is late, even for him."

"Well, I don't blame him," Caitlin huffed, "This is a stupid idea. If I were Barry, I wouldn't show up either."

"This is a _great_ idea," Cisco insisted, "What better way to get Barry's speed up than to pull a daredevil stunt?"

"It's over a hundred foot drop, Cisco," Caitlin said seriously, looking nervously out at the dam, "I can't patch Barry up if he's _dead_."

"You need to have a little more faith in him," Cisco said, waving a hand dismissively.

"I don't know," Joe said slowly, "I'm really not liking the sound of this."

"I've done all the calculations," Cisco assured them, "Barry needs to reach mach three-point-three to make the jump, and yeah, I know that's faster than he's ever gone before…and I know he hasn't been making much progress with his speed…and that he's been a little scatter-brained lately, but…okay, yeah, maybe this is a terrible idea."

"Thank you," Caitlin said in irritation.

"I say we abort," Joe said, peering over the edge of the cliff.

He paled slightly when he saw the sharp rocks at the bottom.

"Okay, we're definitely not doing this," he decided, his voice rising slightly.

"Agreed," Iris sighed in relief, "Someone text Barry. Tell him not to come and that we're—"

Iris was suddenly cut off by the high-pitched sound of tires squealing on the nearby road. The squealing quickly ceased and was replaced by the grinding of gravel, dust quickly enveloping the small group as a car pulled up next to the STAR Labs van. Everyone coughed and tried to bat away the dust in the air. As the dust settled, a bright red Lamborghini quickly came into view. They all stared at the Italian sports car, trying to see through its tinted windows.

"Who's this asshole and what does he want?" Cisco asked in irritation, still trying to clear his throat.

That question was answered rather quickly when the car door opened, flipping upwards instead of out like a normal vehicle. The driver climbed out with a wide grin on his face.

"Barry?!" Iris ejected.

Barry smiled as he sauntered up to them, wearing his Flash suit with the cowl down and a pair of dark sunglasses over his eyes.

"Cisco," he said as he joined them, "I think it's time we make my suit a brighter red. It's clashing with the Flash mobile."

They all stared at him.

"What's with the car, Bar?" Joe asked in confusion.

"Yeah," Cisco said, walking up to the car with an awestruck look on his face, "What's with the…beautiful, _beautiful_ car?"

Barry laughed and took off his sunglasses.

"You like it?" he grinned, "I had to go to twenty-eight different car dealerships to find it. It took me over an _hour_."

"Why does the _Flash_ need a car?" Caitlin asked, frowning at the luxury vehicle.

Barry shrugged.

"Why not?" he asked, "Even speedsters get tired of running everywhere, especially when they're as hungover as I am today. Besides, just last week, I ran to work in the rain and had to deal with soaked shoes all day. A car would solve that problem. Not to mention the hazard of wet or icy roads. I'm less likely to hydroplane in a car than I am to slip when I'm running at—"

"Okay, okay," Joe said impatiently, "I care way less about the 'why' than I do about the ' _how_.' How did you buy this, Bar?"

"I saved up," Barry shrugged, his face stretching into a mischievous grin.

"This is a hundred- _thousand_ -dollar car, Barry," Joe said seriously.

"One-seventy-five," Barry corrected, his voice somewhat smug.

"Where'd you get the money?" Joe demanded, "Did you time travel again?"

"Again?" Iris asked.

"I'll explain later," Joe muttered to her, his eyes fixed on Barry, waiting for an answer.

"Relax, I didn't time travel," Barry assured him, rolling his eyes, "No more lottery tickets, I promise."

"Then what did you _do_?" Joe demanded, "You didn't _steal_ anything, did you?"

"Seriously?" Barry laughed, "I'm the Flash. Of course I didn't steal anything. I'm actually hurt you even had to ask that."

"Well, you've been more than a little impulsive lately," Joe said seriously, "Honestly, I don't know what's going on with you, but I'm concerned, Bar."

"You're concerned because I bought a _car_?" Barry asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Dude," Cisco said, "You're like the definition of an existential crisis right now."

"I'm twenty-six," Barry laughed, "I think I'm a little young to be going through an existential crisis."

"Says the guy who went and bought a flashy sports car," Cisco said seriously.

Barry grinned at him.

"Pun not intended," Cisco added before Barry could open his mouth.

Barry laughed and shook his head.

"I'm not going through any kind of mid-life crisis, guys," he chuckled, "I'm just trying to live a little. I work hard every day to protect this city. I think I deserve to buy myself a few toys every now and then."

"This isn't just about the _car_ , Barry," Iris said seriously, "Something about you lately has been…different. You're distracted."

"I'm here, aren't I?" Barry said, raising his hands, "I'm still taking my responsibility as the Flash seriously. God forbid I have a life outside being the Flash. I swear, all you guys see me as now is a set of legs. I'm still Barry Allen, you know."

They all stared at him, shocked by his outburst. Barry didn't even sound angry. In fact, he spoke in a matter-of-fact tone, as if what he had just said was an everyday statement.

"Barry, you know that's not true," Caitlin insisted, "You're more than just the Flash to us. You're _Barry_."

"But lately you haven't been the Barry we know," Joe continued, "You've been reckless…impulsive. I don't know what's gotten into you—if this has something to do with Zoom or what—but we have good reason to be concerned about you right now."

"And why is that?" Barry questioned, raising an eyebrow, "Have I done anything wrong? Is it wrong to ask for a pay raise at work or to buy a nice car?"

"Barry, you dangled a man off a flag pole by his _underwear_ ," Caitlin said seriously.

"Not to mention how everyone at work keeps calling you 'slut' now," Joe added with a grimace.

"They're just joking around," Barry laughed, waving a dismissive hand.

"Was it joking around when I walked in on you arguing with Detective Dilloshaw last week?" Joe asked seriously.

"Well, that's different," Barry shrugged, "That guy's a dick."

"No, Bar, _you_ are," Joe countered, "At least, you have been lately. At every crime scene you go to now, you've been condescending and downright arrogant towards the other detectives."

"And look at the result," Barry said, completely unabashed, "Detective Dilloshaw wears _gloves_ now. Detective Henderson actually tapes the scenes off _right_. And Officer Brooks doesn't get crumbs all over the scenes with his impromptu diabetic snacks. I'm not going to apologize for demanding a little more respect from my coworkers, Joe. Those guys have been walking all over me for years. It's about time they start listening to me and do their jobs right."

"I never thought you cared about respect," Joe said seriously, "I always thought being _liked_ by your coworkers was more important to you."

"It is," Barry shrugged, "But being liked only gets you so far. I can still be liked without being a total pushover. I'm tired of being taken advantage of."

"Is that how you feel?" Joe asked, "You feel like they're taking advantage of you?"

"Everyone does," Barry shrugged.

They all stared at him, stunned into silence.

"Are you talking about _us_?" Cisco said after a moment, "Because we already told you, you're more than just a 'set of legs' to us, man."

"Well, forgive me if it doesn't feel that way sometimes," Barry said calmly, "All the training, the medical tests, speed drugs…"

"We're not making you take the V9, Barry," Caitlin said seriously, "Jay told us it was too dangerous. Besides, _you're_ the one who's always saying you want to get faster. If it feels like we've been pushing you, that's only because we thought that's what you _wanted_."

"It is," Barry said, "It is what I want. I'm just saying it would be nice to be seen for _who_ I am and not how _fast_ I am."

They all stared at him, no one knowing what to say. They didn't know where all this was coming from. Had Barry been feeling this way all this time? He was the one who seemed to always define himself by his speed, but maybe _they_ had something to do with that…

"Anyways," Barry said, starting to stretch his legs, "Are we going to do this or what?"

Everyone gave him confused looks, glancing back at the dam behind them.

"Hang on, Bar," Joe said seriously, "We decided not to do this. I think we all need to go back to STAR Labs and talk more about what's going on with you right now."

"I'm done with talking," Barry said impatiently, "I just want to _run_."

They're eyes all widened when Barry started backing up, getting ready to jump the cliff.

"Dude, wait," Cisco said seriously, "We just discussed it, and we all agreed this exercise is too dangerous. I never should have suggested it."

"Why not?" Barry laughed, still backing up, "It's _genius_!"

"Barry, seriously, stop!" Iris pleaded, her voice on edge, "If you don't make it to the other side, the fall could _kill_ you!"

"That's the point," Barry laughed, "The whole point of the cliff, of the _danger_ , is to increase adrenaline and trigger more speed."

"Barry," Caitlin said seriously, "Just wait! Let's talk about this a second!"

"Less talking, more running," Barry laughed, digging his feet into the ground and getting into running position.

"Barry!" Joe shouted angrily, " _Listen_ to us!"

"Relax, guys," Barry grinned, "I can do this."

"Barry, please!" Iris cried, "Please, just wait! You can't do this!"

Barry gave her a wide grin.

"Watch me."

And then he took off, charging toward the cliff with a streak of lightning.

"Barry!" they all screamed, but it was too late.

Barry leapt off the edge.


	10. Sin City

Sin City

* * *

Barry moved through the air as just a bright streak of lightning.

"He's not going to make it!" Iris screamed.

They all watched in horror as the stream of lightning started to lose height, coming down way too fast. And then Barry's feet hit the ground, only just making it to the outer edge of the cliff. He slipped a little, pulling himself up to keep himself from going over the edge.

He made it.

Barry gasped for air, taking a moment to compose himself before straightening up to look back at them from the other side of the dam.

"Woooo!" he cheered, throwing his hands in the air in triumph, "Did you _see_ that?!"

Barry punched the air and bowed with a flourish. Everyone else, however, was just trying to control their heartrates, breathing sighs of relief.

"Barry!" Joe boomed furiously, "Get over here!"

"No problem," Barry grinned.

" _Around_ the dam!" Joe ordered, "Do _not_ jump again!"

Barry sighed and rolled his eyes, but thankfully he listened to Joe this time, running around the dam rather than jumping over it.

"Oh, man! That was awesome!" Barry raved as he joined the group, "That was one of the best rushes I've ever had! And I did it _with_ a hangover! Next time, I think I'll be able to do it a lot—"

Barry was cut off by Joe roughly grapping the collar of his suit with two hands.

"What the hell is wrong with you?!" Joe yelled in Barry's face, shaking him furiously.

Barry laughed and shook his head.

"Relax, Joe," he grinned, "I made it, didn't I?"

"You could have died!" Joe shouted, pushing Barry back a few paces as he released his hold on his suit, "That was the stupidest thing you've ever done, Barry!"

"But it worked," Barry laughed, "I made the jump!"

He turned to Cisco then.

"How fast was I going?" he asked excitedly.

Cisco gave him a look of disbelief and shook his head.

"I wasn't exactly recording, Barry," he said seriously, "I was too busy worrying about whether or not you were going to survive the fall."

"Wow, you guys have so little faith in me," Barry laughed, shaking his head, "Don't worry, though. You can just record it next time when I—"

"There isn't going to _be_ a next time, Barry," Iris seethed, "You're not jumping again."

"Hell, I'll do it right now," Barry shrugged, "I can do this all day."

"No, you can't," Joe fumed, "And you _won't_. We're going back to STAR Labs. _Now_."

"Oh, we are, are we?" Barry asked, raising his eyebrows in amusement.

"Yes, Barry," Caitlin said seriously, "We _are_."

Barry laughed and shook his head.

"Well, you guys can do whatever you want," he said, looking at his watch, "I need to get going. Got somewhere to be."

" _Where_?" Joe demanded.

"Don't worry about it," Barry said with a dismissive wave of his hand, "I'll be home by three. Here."

He tossed Joe his car keys.

"Take that home for me, would you?" he said with a wink.

" _Barry_ ," Joe growled, "Don't you dare—"

Barry took off with a flash of lightning.

"—leave," Joe finished, his hand closing in a fist around Barry's car keys.

"Where do you think he's going?" Caitlin asked worriedly.

"I don't know," Joe gritted, "But he's in for a serious ass-kicking when he gets home."

* * *

Twenty minutes later, they were all back at STAR Labs, Barry's Lamborghini parked safely in the lot by Cisco, who had been a little _too_ eager to drive it. Joe was still fuming over Barry's recklessness, incoherently muttering to himself every few minutes.

"Got any read on his location yet?" he asked impatiently.

"Nothing yet," Cisco answered, frowning at the map on the screen in confusion.

"Are we sure he even has the suit on?" Caitlin asked seriously.

"He had it on when he left," Iris shrugged.

"He doesn't seem to be in Central City," Cisco told them, looking at the map, "Or in this _state,_ for that matter."

"What do you mean?" Joe asked, "Where _is_ he?"

"Nevada," Cisco answered, frowning at the screen.

"What's Barry doing in _Nevada_?" Iris asked in confusion.

Cisco suddenly gasped and banged his fist on the desk.

"That asshole!" he yelled.

"What?" the other three asked in unison.

"He went to _Vegas_!" Cisco said incredulously, "He went to Vegas and didn't invite me!"

"What the hell is Barry doing in _Las_ _Vegas_?!" Joe demanded.

"No idea," Cisco muttered, looking at the screen in confusion, "But I'm never going to forgive him for not inviting me. I've always wanted to go there!"

"Barry's not answering his phone," Caitlin sighed, setting her phone down, "And his coms are turned off. I don't think we're going to get any answers until he gets back."

"Well, when is that going to be?" Iris asked, "It's only one right now. When he said he'd be back by three, did he mean AM or PM?"

"Not sure," Cisco said, "But I'm guessing he meant AM if he's all the way in Vegas. Granted, he can make the run in less than ten minutes, so who knows?"

"All I know is that when he gets home, I'm going to tear him a new one," Joe fumed, "He could have _died_ today! I don't know what's going on with him, but I'm not liking it. His attitude. His recklessness. I'm done with this nonsense!"

"There has to be something more going on here," Iris insisted, "This isn't like Barry. I know he's been a little off lately, but it's been getting worse. There's something really _wrong_ with him."

"That much is obvious," Joe said seriously, "But _what_?"

Cisco turned in his chair to look at Caitlin, a serious look on his face.

"The meta," he said seriously, "You don't think…?"

"It _did_ affect him," she said, her eyes widening, "Just not in the way we were expecting."

"What meta?" Joe asked, "What are you talking about?"

"A few weeks ago, Barry did a quick run to help out with a public indecency call," Caitlin explained, "Some guy was…skinny dipping in the fountain at Washington Park. It really was a quick and easy call. The guy was streaking through the park, evading the cops who were chasing him, but the Flash managed to get a hold of him and deliver him over to police."

"Honestly, I'm pretty sure the cops just didn't want to tackle a naked guy," Cisco snorted.

"So, where does the metahuman come in?" Joe asked impatiently.

"Well, as Barry was handing the streaker over to the police, a nearby bystander looked at him and…Barry said the guy's eyes changed color and everything suddenly went red, just like it did with Bivolo. He said he was disoriented for a moment, and in that time, the guy disappeared into the crowd."

"So, the metahuman whammied him," Iris concluded.

Cisco and Caitlin both nodded.

"And you guys didn't think that was something to be _concerned_ about?!" Joe asked incredulously.

"Of _course_ we were concerned," Caitlin assured him, "I did a full range of tests on Barry when he got back, but I couldn't find anything wrong with him."

"But that's how it was with Bivolo, too," Joe said seriously, "You thought he was fine after the first time he was whammied, and then he wasn't."

"I know," Caitlin said quickly, "But Barry assured us he felt fine. He said he felt completely normal, and he wasn't acting _angry_ or anything, so we figured the meta's powers didn't affect him."

"Well, clearly they did," Iris said seriously, "Barry has definitely been acting differently lately."

"I agree," Caitlin nodded, "But it wasn't this obvious at first. We thought Barry was just letting loose a little. We didn't think it had anything to do with the meta, mostly because we were looking for rage, like he had with Bivolo. We weren't looking for…impulsiveness."

"Really, this explains a lot," Joe said, "Not just with Barry, but with a lot of cases the CCPD has been getting lately: motor accidents, crazy stunts, public indecency. The metahuman must be responsible. When he whammies people, he…takes away their inhibitions, makes them do things they wouldn't normally do."

"But it must affect Barry differently," Iris pointed out, "Until today, Barry wasn't doing anything _dangerous_ , just acting a little different than usual. The meta's powers must affect him slower, the same way Bivolo's did."

"Well, if that's the case, that means Barry's only going to get worse," Caitlin said seriously, "He's going to get progressively more reckless and impulsive the longer he's under the metahuman's influence."

"And with his powers, that can be a very dangerous thing," Joe said darkly.

They all looked at each other in alarm.

"We need to get Barry under control," Cisco said seriously, "Before he gets himself hurt or does something he'll really regret."

"Well, he's all the way in Vegas right now," Iris said, "We can't do anything until he gets back."

"You mean _if_ he gets back," Joe said seriously, "Barry said he'd be back by three, but we can't really rely upon him to keep his word right now, and there is a _lot_ of trouble he could get himself into in a city like Las Vegas."

Everyone looked seriously at each other in alarm, knowing Joe was right.

"Are we thinking what I think we're thinking?" Cisco asked after a moment.

"We're going to Vegas," Joe said seriously, grabbing his coat.

"Yes!" Cisco shouted, punching a fist into the air, "Vegas, baby! I'll book us a flight!"

"Are you guys serious?" Iris asked the others, "We're really going to Vegas tonight?"

"Yes," Joe said seriously, "We are. And we're going to bring Barry home."

* * *

By the time their flight landed, it was almost seven PM. Barry had been in Vegas for over six hours already, and there was no telling what he had done in that time. They all were fearing the worst.

"Do you have a read on his suit?" Joe asked as they were climbing into a cab at the airport.

"It still hasn't moved," Cisco said, "It's still at Caesar's Palace. Barry must have a room there."

"That's one of the most expensive hotels in Vegas," Caitlin said, "It's meant for celebrities and blue collar elites. How is he affording that?"

"I don't know," Joe sighed, running a hand over his face, "But I have a very bad feeling about all of this. If Barry has a hotel room, then he clearly lied about being home by three."

"Or he's in bed with another stranger again," Iris muttered.

"How on earth are we going to find him in a city this big?" Caitlin asked seriously, "This city is _huge_."

"Well, he may not have his suit," Cisco said, pulling out his laptop, "Or his personality, for that matter, but he still has his face."

Cisco typed on his computer for only a couple minutes before finding what he was looking for.

"Bingo!" he said in triumph, "I found him. Facial recognition software located him at the Bellagio. Thank God for the excessive camera security in casinos."

"He came all this way just to gamble?" Joe asked in confusion.

"Well, the metahuman _does_ make people impulsive," Caitlin shrugged, "What's more impulsive than gambling?"

"I suppose," Joe said quietly, a horrible feeling in his gut.

They redirected their taxi driver to take them to the Bellagio then. When they pulled up and climbed out of the car, they couldn't help but look up at the building in awe. Although their circumstances behind coming here were stressful, they had to admit: Vegas was breathtaking. Cisco seemed particularly transfixed by the massive fountains outside the Bellagio, great jets of water shooting over four-hundred feet in the air, creating a wall of water that was over one-thousand feet long. Dazzling white lights lit up the display, mesmerizing bystanders.

"Come on," Joe said after a moment, "Let's find him fast before he hops to a different casino."

They all nodded and swiftly entered the building. Upon entering, they came to the horrible realization that finding Barry quickly was going to be a lot easier said than done. The casino was _huge_.

"Cisco," Joe said, peering through the crowd, "Did facial recognition tell you which game Barry was playing?"

"Are you kidding?" Cisco laughed, "It's a casino, Joe. I didn't get any of their footage. Places like this have security so tight, I might as well be hacking into the Pentagon. I can do it, but it would take me a while."

"Barry will be playing blackjack," Iris said surely.

They all stared at her.

"He may not go to casinos," she shrugged, "But blackjack has always been his game. He told me once that his dad used to play it with him, betting candy instead of money. Barry's been playing blackjack since he was five. _That's_ the game he would gravitate to in a casino."

"She right," Joe said, "And he most certainly won't be playing poker. Barry has a terrible poker face."

Cisco couldn't help but laugh.

"So much for his favorite song," he chuckled.

The four of them quickly made their way over to the nlackjack tables then, peering through the crowds in search of Barry. It took a full ten minutes of searching the huge casino before Iris finally spotted him.

"I see him!" she said, pointing towards a table near the corner.

Barry was sitting at one of the blackjack tables, like she had predicted. He didn't seem to notice they were there. He was staring down at the table, an intense look of concentration on his face. He was wearing an expensive black suit and tie—clearly custom made—and he had more than a few empty glasses in front of him.

Iris started to head for the table, but she was promptly stopped by her father's hand on her shoulder.

"Hold up," Joe said seriously, "Maybe we shouldn't all rush in on him at once."

"You're right," Caitlin agreed, "If we try to ambush him, he'll probably bolt."

"He's probably going to bolt no matter what," Cisco pointed out, "And if he does, there won't be anything we can do to stop him."

They all stared at Barry from across the room, weighing their options. Barry still hadn't spotted them yet. His gaze was fixed on the table, his expression all too serious for a casino. His eyes followed the cards with scary concentration, his face made of stone as he watched the dealer lay the cards.

"Is he…?" Caitlin asked slowly.

"He's counting," Cisco realized, "He's counting the cards."

"Is that how he's been getting his money?" Iris asked seriously, "Counting cards? I thought he said it wasn't anything illegal?"

"Counting cards isn't illegal," her father sighed, "It's just frowned upon."

"And dangerous," Cisco added.

They all looked at him.

"What?" Cisco shrugged, "Haven't you ever seen _21_? If casinos catch you counting, it's a quick way to lose a few fingers or get whacked off."

"You're thinking of the mob, Cisco," Caitlin said.

Cisco stubbornly shook his head.

"I'm telling you," he said seriously, "If Barry gets caught counting, he's going to get himself into serious trouble with the owners. They take people into the back room for this kind of thing. Or they'll eighty-six him."

"Eighty-six?" Iris asked, furrowing her eyebrows.

"Drive him eighty miles out into the dessert and put him six feet under," Cisco clarified.

"They don't still do that," Joe said, waving his hand impatiently, "They'll probably just blacklist him. Take him into the back and scare him a little at the very most."

"Well, I'm not too worried about that," Iris said, "Barry can just run away if that happens."

"Still," Joe said, "The casino will remember his face, and if he uses his powers to escape, he could potentially be risking his identity in the process. This place is full of cameras."

"We need to get Barry out of here," Caitlin said seriously, "As soon as possible."

"I'll go," Joe said, "I think this will go smoother if only one of us approaches him. I'll try to talk some sense into him."

"Barry isn't going to be easy to reason with," Caitlin warned.

"I know," Joe sighed, "But I don't know what else we can do at this point."

They all nodded, watching nervously as Joe then started to make his way over to Barry's table. Joe took a deep breath as he neared the table. Barry was right in front of him now, his back to him. Joe reached out a hand, but before he could lay it on Barry's shoulder, Barry suddenly spoke.

"You're underdressed, Joe," he said without tearing his eyes from the table.

Joe's hand paused midair.

"You knew we were here?" he asked in surprise.

Barry let out a small laugh, his eyes still following the cards on the table.

"You guys weren't exactly sly about it," he said, "And did you really think I wasn't watching my surroundings in here? I'm more careful than that."

"Well, I beg to differ," Joe whispered seriously, "You're not exactly keeping a low-profile here, Barry. You couldn't be more obvious about what you're doing."

"What do you mean?" Barry asked in mock innocence, "I'm just playing a little game."

"You're counting," Joe hissed, "You're cheating, Bar."

"Counting isn't cheating," Barry whispered to him, a wide grin on his face, "It's just using strategy and statistics to increase your odds."

"This is _risky_ , Barry," Joe said seriously.

"Relax, Joe. I know what I'm doing," Barry chuckled, "I'm not gambling. It's not gambling if you're using a system based on probability and basic math. I mastered basic blackjack strategy by the time I was seven, and counting is incredibly easy when you have superspeed and a sharp brain. It's about time I start using my smarts and my speed to earn me a little extra cash."

"A little extra cash," Joe huffed, his eyes scanning over Barry's Brioni Tonal-stripe two-piece suit, "Says the guy wearing a five-thousand dollar suit."

"Double down and hit," Barry said to the dealer, ignoring Joe.

As he predicted, the dealer laid down a face card on top of Barry's eleven and then busted on his own hand.

Barry's lips twitched as he collected his chips.

"Barry," Joe said seriously, eyeing the chips Barry had in front of him, "You've won enough. Let's get out of here now."

"Can't," Barry sighed, "I just ordered another drink, and the deck is hot. I've been waiting all night for this."

Joe took in a deep breath and let it out slowly, trying not to let his frustration get the best of him. He had to remind himself that Barry wasn't entirely in his right mind right now and that patience would be far more effective here than trying to use force would.

"Bar, please just _listen_ to me for a second."

"Go on, I'm listening," Barry said condescendingly, still closely watching the cards on the table without even glancing at Joe.

"You're going to get caught, Bar," Joe whispered, "I don't care how good of a counter you are, the casino is going to catch on eventually if you keep winning."

"I'm not stupid," Barry chuckled, "I never stay at a single casino for more than an hour in one night. I'll leave as soon as the deck cools. Hell if I'm going anywhere when the count's plus _seventeen_."

"Barry, you—"

"Split those, please," Barry said to the dealer.

The dealer gave him a confused look.

"Are you sure about that?" he asked, "You should never split two face cards. It's safer to keep the queens together and stay at twenty."

Barry nodded, his lips twitching in amusement.

"Split and hit," he said confidently.

The dealer shrugged and split Barry's queens. He hit on the first one.

Ace.

Barry gleefully clapped his hands together. Joe put a hand on his shoulder.

"Bar," he said worriedly.

"Next One!" Barry shouted happily to the dealer, "Hit again!"

Another ace.

"Winner, winner, chicken dinner!" the dealer called out, pushing a pile of chips towards Barry, "Double blackjack!"

Barry laughed and added the chips to his stack. Joe raised his eyebrows when he got a closer look at the chips Barry was playing with. They were five-hundred a piece.

He had just won twenty-thousand dollars in one round.

And Joe wasn't the only one to notice.

" _Barry_ ," Joe hissed when he saw a few large men in black suits start heading for their table, "It's time to cash out and leave. _Now_."

"Deck is still hot," Barry shrugged, taking his drink from the waitress and handing her a fifty-dollar chip for a tip.

"Barry, I'm serious," Joe said desperately, "We need to go home _now_. You're going to be—"

"Excuse me, sir," one of the men in black said, clamping a hand down on Barry's shoulder, "We need you to come with us."

"Not yet," Barry said impatiently, taking a sip of his drink, "Give me two more rounds."

"Sir," the other of the two men said, "You need to come with us, _now_."

The man roughly yanked Barry from his seat, causing him to spill some of his drink.

"Look what you made me do," Barry groaned, "You're going to owe me another drink now."

The man ignored Barry and started pulling him away from the table. In a panic, Joe did the only thing he could think to do.

"I've got this, gentlemen," he said loudly to the two men, pulling out a pair of handcuffs, "Barry Allen, you're under arrest."

"What?" Barry laughed as Joe pulled his hands behind his back, "You've gotta be kidding me!"

If Joe was a little rougher than necessary, well, Barry couldn't really complain.

"You have the right to remain silent," Joe recited.

God, he hoped Barry remained silent.

"Anything you say can and will be used against you in the court of law. You have the right to an—"

"Sir," one of the security guards said to him, "What do you think you're doing?"

"Detective West," Joe said, pulling out his badge, "CCPD. This man is wanted for questioning in Central City. I'm here to detain him and take him back to Central County, where he belongs."

With that, Joe steered Barry out of the casino, reciting his Miranda rights.

"You have the right to an attorney. If you cannot afford an attorney, one will be provided for you."

"Joe," Barry laughed, rolling his eyes as they stepped outside, "You can stop now."

As soon as they were outside, Barry immediately phased out of the handcuffs, which fell to the sidewalk with a pathetic clanging sound. Joe internally cursed himself. He wished he had thought to carry power-dampening cuffs on him. He hadn't exactly been planning to _arrest_ Barry, though.

"You could have at least let me collect my chips," Barry pouted, "I had over sixty-thousand dollars in there."

"Something tells me you have more than enough saved up," Joe said stiffly, "How long have you been coming here to do this, Barry?"

Barry shrugged.

"A couple weeks."

Joe sighed and shook his head. Just then, the other three came bursting out the casino door.

"Whew, that was close," Cisco said, "Good thinking, Joe, whipping out the badge and handcuffs."

Barry rolled his eyes, a small smile on his face.

"I have a feeling you guys aren't here to check out the night life," he said in amusement.

"No," Iris said seriously, "We're not. We're here to take you _home_."

Barry laughed and shook his head.

"Well, you wasted a trip," he chuckled, "I'm not ready to go home yet. Besides, I told you I'd be home by three."

"Is that why you booked a room at Caesar's Palace?" Joe accused.

Barry laughed.

"I just needed a place to put my suit," he shrugged.

They all blinked at him.

"You booked a thirty-five-thousand-dollar room just to have a place to put your _suit_?" Caitlin asked incredulously.

"Well, I _was_ also going to use the room for…other things," Barry said with a wink.

"Told you," Iris muttered under her breath to the others.

"Relax, Iris," Barry laughed, "It's just sex. You know you're the only girl for me."

Iris opened and closed her mouth a couple times, taken aback by the blunt statement.

"Oh, come on," Barry laughed, "Why are you acting surprised? I confessed my undying love for you over a year ago. Did you think that just went away?"

Everyone looked awkwardly away from Barry and Iris, feeling uncomfortable to be standing here for this conversation.

"You have a weird way of showing it, Barry," Iris said coldly, "Jumping into bed with every girl you see."

"Like I said," Barry shrugged, "It's just sex. Didn't realize it would bother you so much."

Iris let out an incredulous laugh, giving Barry a look of utter disbelief.

"I seriously don't even know what to say to that, Barry," she said, shaking her head.

Barry shrugged then and put his hands in his jacket pockets.

"Okay," he shrugged, "What do I need to do to prove it to you?"

Iris blinked at him.

"What?" she asked.

"What do I need to do to prove to you that you're the only girl for me?" Barry asked calmly.

Iris stared at him and shook her head, her face burning slightly to be having this conversation in front of the others, who were silently averting their eyes as the two talked.

"You'll come home," Iris said after a moment, "You'll come home with us."

Barry let out a small sigh and shook his head, an amused smile on his face.

"I have a better idea," he smirked.

And with that, Barry suddenly flashed away, taking off across the water of the famous Bellagio fountains to add his own flash of lightning to the lights and water show.

He disappeared amongst the lights.

They all stood there in shock, none of them knowing what to do.

"Well this is just _great_ ," Joe muttered in frustration.

"What do we do now?" Cisco asked, "Barry could be _anywhere_."

"Everyone just stay calm," Caitlin said, keeping a cool head.

"Stay calm?" Iris asked incredulously, "Barry's running around somewhere in Las Vegas, under the influence of some metahuman that whammied him, and you want us to _stay calm_?!"

"Cisco," Caitlin said urgently, "Can you track him with facial recognition again?"

Cisco nodded and pulled out his tablet, repeating the same process as before.

"It looks like he went to another _casino_ ," Cisco sighed, "It's on Charleston Boulevard."

"Okay," Joe sighed, moving to flag down a taxi, "Let's go."

And so it started. The four of them climbed into a cab and made their way to the parking garage on Charleston Boulevard. By the time they got there, though, Barry was gone. Facial recognition then picked him up on a street camera on the strip, so they turned around their cab and went there. No luck. Next was another casino on the other side of town. They thought for sure they'd have him in one place for a while then, figuring he'd be there for at least an hour, but by the time they got there, Barry was gone—on the other side of town in another casino.

"He's doing this on purpose," Joe said furiously, "He's purposely going back and forth to casinos on opposite sides of the city so that we spend our time driving all night. I'm sure he's having a good laugh about it."

"We're just wasting our time," Iris sighed, "We've been chasing Barry for four hours, and all we've managed to do is blow over two-hundred dollars on taxi fare."

"Well, I'm sure Barry can more than cover it when he sees us next," Cisco pointed out, "He is _definitely_ reimbursing us for this. Personally, I wouldn't mind if he got me a little extra something for the trouble…maybe a car."

The others rolled their eyes at him.

"We need to be smarter than him," Joe said seriously, "Right now, we're just chasing tails here."

"What else do you propose we do?" Caitlin asked tiredly.

It was nearing midnight, and they all were growing tired of Barry's stupid goose chase through Las Vegas.

"We could wait for him at his hotel," Iris suggested, "That's the one place we know he's going to be eventually."

Her father shook his head.

"No," he said, "I don't like the idea of just waiting up for him while runs around Vegas doing God knows what."

"Well, his hotel isn't the only place we know Barry's going to be," Cisco said.

They all furrowed their eyebrows at him.

"Right now, we know he's at a casino on the south side of the city," he explained, "And if we've learned anything over the last four hours of chasing him, we know where he's going to go next."

"The strip," Joe said, a smile forming on his face, "You're right. He's been alternating his casinos in a pattern. We can be one step ahead of him."

After turning around their taxi, Iris asked the pressing question.

"Which casino are we going to?"

"There are forty major casinos on the Las Vegas strip," Cisco said, typing on his tablet, "Barry's been to six of them tonight. While we've been driving all night, I've been tracking his facial recognition history over the last few weeks, and I located him at sixteen of them. It's unlikely he'd return to them so soon. I also managed to hack my way into some casino databases and know he's been blacklisted at eight of them."

"So that leaves…" Joe said.

"Ten casinos Barry could appear at yet tonight," Cisco concluded, "Granted, I may have missed a few in my search. I couldn't hack into _every_ database, and facial recognition only gets us so far. Either way, it's narrowed down to these ten places, which is more to go off of than we had before."

"Good work, Cisco," Joe said seriously, "I think the best way to handle this would be to divide and conquer. A lot of these casinos are right next to each other. One person can probably cover two of them just by standing outside."

And that's exactly what they did. They each got out of the cab at different casinos, assuming their posts along different parts of the strips, on the lookout for Barry. Iris stood alone outside the Cosmopolitan Hotel and Casino, keeping her eyes peeled for a sudden streak of lightning to announce Barry's presence. That lightning never came. Barry didn't come running up to the casino.

No. Instead, he came _rolling_ up, riding a sleek black motorcycle. Iris goggled at him as he dismounted the bike and sauntered up to her, still wearing his expensive black suit and tie.

"I see you guys finally changed your strategy," he chuckled, "I was wondering how long it would take you to split up. It's been amusing watching you drive back and forth."

Iris's hands balled into fists.

"There's nothing _amusing_ about this, Barry," she seethed, "We've been looking for you for hours! Where have you been?!"

"Honestly?" Barry laughed, "I've just been enjoying the show. I stopped at a few casinos, won a couple K, but mostly I've just been watching you guys."

" _Why_?!" Iris demanded, "Why are you doing this, Barry? Why are you making us chase after you, worrying _sick_ about you?!"

"Hey, I didn't make you guys come to Vegas," Barry shrugged.

He stepped closer to her then, invading her space until they were both breathing the same air.

"But I'm glad you did," he whispered, his eyes boring into hers.

Iris was momentarily stunned into silence, captivated by the intense look in Barry's eyes. The spell was broken, however, when Iris suddenly felt his hand slip out of her pocket.

"Hey!" she protested, when she noticed her phone in his hand.

"Can't have you calling Joe," Barry teased, "It took me all night to get you alone."

Iris goggled at him.

"You…you _wanted_ us to split up?" she stammered.

Barry let out a loud laugh.

"Of course," he said simply, "Why do you think I ran in a pattern? I knew you guys would catch onto it eventually and devise a plan around it. I swear, you all don't give my intelligence enough credit sometimes. Then again, my legs were always more valuable to the team than my brain."

"That's not true, Barry, and you know it," Iris said angrily, "Will you please stop saying that?"

Barry shrugged and pocketed Iris's cell phone.

"None of that matters right now anyways," he said, running a hand along her arm, "What matters is that you're here, I'm here, and we're standing in one of the most beautiful cities in the world."

"Barry," Iris said seriously, "I—"

"Shh," Barry said, putting a finger gently to her lips, "I know you want me to go home, and I _will._ I'll make good on my promise to be home by three. I was always planning to honor that promise anyways. All I ask is that you let everything go for now. For just a couple hours, have some _fun,_ Iris. We're in Las Vegas, and after all…what happens in Vegas…"

Barry leaned closer to whisper in her ear.

" _Stays in Vegas."_

"Barry," Iris said seriously, gently pushing his shoulders back so she could look at him, "You need to listen to me. You're not thinking clearly right now."

"Actually, I don't think my head has ever been clearer," Barry said, brushing her cheek with the back of his fingers.

Iris felt a shiver go down her spine.

"Barry," Iris said quietly, "We need to call—"

"I'll let you call Joe in two hours," Barry said reasonably, "Spend two hours in Vegas with me, Iris, and then I'll let you call Joe."

"Barry," Iris sighed.

"Or I could just take off right now, and we can resume our little chase game," Barry smirked.

Iris opened and closed her mouth, not knowing what to say. What could she do? She couldn't call the others with her phone in Barry's pocket, and if she refused to stay with him, Barry would take off again. If she stayed with him, then at least she could keep an eye on him for the next two hours, stop him from doing anything reckless. Really, her choice was made for her.

"Okay," Iris said quietly, "Two hours, and then we call my dad."

Barry's face broke out into a wide grin.

"I mean it, Barry," Iris said seriously, "Two hours. Promise?"

Barry laughed and stuck out his little finger.

"Pinky promise," he grinned.

Iris sighed and hooked her little finger with his.

"Okay," Barry said quickly then, "Let's go."

"Where are we going?" Iris asked worriedly.

"No time for questions," Barry laughed, "I only have two hours to show you all my favorite places in Vegas."

With that, Iris suddenly found herself to be moving, being flashed through Las Vegas by a _very_ different Barry Allen than what she was used to.

What the hell had she gotten herself into?!


	11. What Happens in Vegas

**What Happens in Vegas…**

* * *

Iris sucked in a breath as Barry ran her through the city, carrying her in his arms. He had completely abandoned his motorcycle, but that was the last of Iris's concerns.

What was she doing? What had she agreed to?! Where was Barry taking her?!

When they came to a stop, Iris took a moment to get her bearings. Still slightly disoriented, Iris realized they were in a different part of the city. They were standing outside the city center, which housed some of the most prestigious stores in the world: Gucci, Tom Ford, Prada. The buildings themselves were a work of art, displaying just as many flashing lights as the hotels and casinos. Iris stared up at them in awe as Barry took her hand and led her to one building in particular.

Louis Vuitton.

"What are we doing here, Barry?" Iris asked as they entered the store.

From the inside, it looked more like a palace than an actual store. She had never been in a more extravagant building.

"Just doing a little shopping," Barry said vaguely, leading her to the escalator.

Now Iris was just confused. Barry had said he wanted to have fun. Sure, Iris loved shopping, but Barry had always hated it. This was the opposite of fun for him.

"How 'bout this one?" Barry asked, waving a hand over a dress on display, "White always looks good on you."

"It's twelve-thousand dollars, Barry," Iris gasped, looking at the price tag.

"Try it on," Barry said with a crooked smile.

"I'm afraid to _touch_ it," Iris said, backing away from the dress, "Let alone try it on."

"Come on," Barry laughed, taking the dress off the rack and leading her to the dressing room.

"Seriously, Barry," Iris sighed, "What are we doing here?"

"Getting you some clothes," Barry shrugged, "Where we're going next, you're not really going to blend in with that sweatshirt and yoga pants you're wearing."

Iris looked down at her clothes with a sigh.

"Okay," she said slowly, "But why are we in _this_ store? The prices here are outrageous!"

"I made seventy-six K tonight," Barry said calmly, "And that's a _slow_ night. Normally, I make a lot more, so don't worry about it."

Iris let out a heavy sigh and gave him a stubborn look.

"Fine," Barry shrugged, pulling out her phone and holding it out to her, "Call Joe and rejoin the others. I'll see you home at three."

Iris stared at him. Barry was smiling at her, knowing he had her in a corner. He was buying her this dress whether she wanted him to or not.

"I hate you," Iris sighed, taking the dress from Barry and heading for the dressing room.

Barry laughed and repocketed her phone.

Iris felt uncomfortable as they were checking out. Barry paid in all cash, causing the clerk to raise an eyebrow. Barry had always been generous, but Iris felt weird knowing he was spending thousands of dollars on her, for a dress she certainly didn't need.

Iris had always been into fashion, but she had never worn anything this nice before. The off-white color complimented her skin tone perfectly, and the dress hugged her body in all the right ways, the half sleeves hanging off her shoulders while the short hem showed off her long legs. Barry also bought her a fifteen-hundred-dollar pair of heals to match.

Iris, anxious to get out of the ridiculously expensive store, started heading for the door as soon as they checked out. She was stopped, however, by a gentle hand on her arm.

"Where are you going?" Barry asked in amusement.

"Aren't we leaving?" Iris asked, giving him a confused look.

Barry laughed and shook his head.

"I said I wanted to show you my favorite places in Vegas," he said, steering her to a different part of the store.

Iris walked with him in confusion. One of his favorite places was _in_ the store?

Barry led them up a couple levels, taking them to the third floor. As he led her through the luxury handbag portion of the store, he started to explain.

"This is one of the little-known places in Vegas," he said, "Most _locals_ don't even know about it."

Barry led her to the back corner of the store, where a man was standing near a rather inconspicuous looking door.

"We're here for the Akhob," Barry said to the man.

"Do you have a reservation?" the man asked in a bored voice.

Barry laughed and shook his head.

"Reservations book a month in advance," the man said tiredly, "I suggest you call and come back when you—"

"I think this should cover it," Barry said, slipping the man a wad of cash.

The man raised his eyebrows as he flipped through the bills. Barry leaned in and whispered something to him, but Iris couldn't hear what he was saying. The man nodded seriously.

"Very well then," he said, opening the door.

Barry smiled and took Iris's hand, leading her through the door. A small gasp escaped Iris's lips when they entered the other room.

They were in a large bright white room, if you could even call it that. It wasn't a normal room. The walls seemed to bend and contort each and every way, following their own architectural rules. The ceiling must have been a good twenty feet high.

"Right this way, Miss West," Barry said, offering her his arm.

Iris hooked her arm with his and allowed him to lead her towards a set of stairs that led to a circular doorway at the top. It was some sort of tunnel, but instead of the same bright white lighting, this passage was lit up a brilliant shade of pink.

"What is this place?" Iris breathed as they walked through the tunnel.

Even speaking softly, her voice echoed in the empty space.

"The Akhob," Barry answered, smiling as he watched her facial expressions when they entered another room, this one now a deep shade of red, "One of the best, yet most secret, light shows in Vegas."

"A secret light show?" Iris asked, looking around the bent walls that reflected the different shades of light, "In a Louis Vuitton store?"

Barry laughed and nodded.

"Vegas is full of surprises," he chuckled, leading her around a corner and up another set of purple stairs.

These stairs went right to the ceiling, where there was a small opening for them to pass through that led them to yet another room, this one a rich blue. Iris sucked in a breath. The ceiling of this room had hundreds of dazzling white lights that stood out against deep blue, mimicking a starry night sky.

"It's beautiful," Iris whispered, "And so _quiet_."

"Because we're the only ones in here," Barry told her softly, "They only allow one viewing at a time, which is why reservations are required a month in advance and why this isn't listed as a tourist destination. Few people know about it."

"How did _you_ find it?" Iris asked, tearing her eyes away from the ceiling to look at Barry.

Barry smiled.

"An acquaintance of mine recommended it to me," he said, "I come here a couple times a week. I like it here."

Iris stared at him.

"You come here a couple times a _week_?" she asked, "Just how often do you come to Vegas, Barry?"

Barry shrugged.

"I only gamble on the weekends," he said, "But sometimes, after work, I'll run here just to come to the Akhob."

"By yourself?" Iris asked quietly, looking around the vast empty space, "That sounds lonely."

"It's peaceful," Barry said, and then his face split into a wide grin, "And it makes an amazing running track."

Iris's eyes widened.

"You use this as a running track?" she asked.

Barry nodded.

"The lights and the twisting passages make for an interesting run," he explained, "There isn't a single flat wall or ceiling in here. It's like a fun house for a speedster."

Barry grinned at her, and Iris shook her head in amusement.

"I can only imagine," she laughed lightly.

"I'd take you for a run," Barry sighed, "But to you, it would just be a nauseating roller-coaster of lights and colors. You wouldn't get the full experience of it."

Iris smiled sadly.

"It's too bad," she said, "It sounds incredible."

Barry's lips twitched.

"Sometimes I really wish I wasn't the only speedster," he said, "The only _non-evil_ one, at least. It would be nice to share it with someone. Sometimes, it just feels…"

"Lonely," Iris said quietly.

Barry nodded silently, and then his lips twisted into a small smile.

"Come on," he said softly, "We have fifteen more rooms to go."

By the time they made it out of the Akhob, it was 12:40 AM. Forty minutes of their time was used up, and Barry had another hour and twenty minutes before his time was up. That was, if he made good on his promise to let her call her dad at two AM. Iris wasn't sure if she could really count on him to keep that promise right now, though.

Barry didn't waste any time. As soon as they were out of the Louis Vuitton store, he flashed them to their next destination.

Tryst Nightclub.

According to Barry, it was one of the most prestigious clubs in Vegas and in the top ten list of most expensive clubs in the US. It definitely reflected that. People were being turned away left and right at the door. Apparently, you needed to be on some sort of list to get in.

"Barry," Iris hissed when he started moving for the door, "There's a _line_."

Barry glanced at the line of people and laughed.

"Come on," he chuckled, hooking Iris's arm in his as he walked confidently up to the door.

"Mr. Smythe," the bouncer nodded, allowing Barry to walk past.

Barry nodded back at him and passed the red rope like it wasn't even there.

"Mr. Smythe?" Iris asked, raising an eyebrow as they walked into the club.

"I never use my real name in Vegas," Barry laughed, as if it were obvious, "Now, come on. Let's get a couple drinks."

Barry led her through the club then. She quickly saw why it was listed as one of the most prestigious clubs in the US. It wasn't her typical definition of a club. Sure, people were dancing on the dance floor, but even more people were mingling throughout the club in the lounging areas. It was like a VIP section, except instead of being one small section, it took up the whole club. Almost every surface in the club was a deep red color, including the maroon, leather couches. Iris could see why this place appealed to Barry over a normal club.

When they approached the bar, the bartender came to them immediately, ignoring her other patrons who were waiting for a drink.

"I'll have an 1879 Macallan," Barry said to the bartender, pulling out a wad of cash, "And she'll have whatever her heart desires."

The bartender nodded and poured Barry his rather expensive sounding whiskey. She then turned to Iris.

"Um," Iris said, "A grapefruit cosmo?"

The bartended nodded and started making her her drink.

"Anything else I can get for you, Mr. Smythe?" she asked seriously as she set Iris's drink in front of her.

"That'll be all for now, Tahlia," Barry said, sliding a wad of cash towards her, "Keep the change."

"Thanks, Grant," the women smiled, taking the cash and moving to tend to other waiting patrons.

Barry smiled to himself and took a sip of his single-malt whiskey.

"What?" he asked when he noticed Iris staring at him.

"Just how often do you come here, Barry?" she asked.

Barry shrugged.

"Whenever the mood hits," he said vaguely, raising up his glass for a toast.

Iris sighed and tapped her glass with his.

"To new beginnings," Barry said softly, his eyes locked with hers as they drank from their glasses.

"Barry," Iris sighed as she set her glass on the bar, "Are you sure this is a good idea? You were drinking all night at the casino after all."

Barry laughed.

"I was drinking tonic and lime all night," he told her, "I never drink alcohol when I'm counting. It's a strategy of mine. I want the casinos to think I'm just some big-betting drunk blue blood spending his daddy's money. Hence, the five-thousand-dollar suit. I have a reason for wearing it. I'm not _that_ ostentatious, Iris."

Iris laughed and shook her head.

"I didn't think you were," she said, "But you're not exactly yourself right now, Barry."

"What makes you say that?" Barry asked, a small smile on his face as his eyebrows furrowed.

"Barry," Iris said seriously, taking the drink from his hand to set it on the bar, "You need to listen to me. A few weeks ago, you had that run-in with that metahuman who whammied you."

"Yeah, but it didn't affect me," Barry shrugged.

"Barry, _look_ at yourself!" Iris said incredulously, "You've been acting differently. This isn't _you_."

Barry stubbornly shook his head.

"Iris, I've never felt more like myself than I do now," he said seriously, "I've never felt more… _free_."

"That's the metahuman talking," Iris insisted, "You're not in your right mind right now, Barry. That's what I've been trying to tell you. You wouldn't normally be doing any of this. You're not yourself."

"Or maybe I am," Barry suggested, "Maybe this is the true me, not holding back, doing what I really want to do."

"The Barry I know doesn't care about money," Iris said seriously, "Or making his coworkers respect him. Or jumping into bed with strangers."

"Maybe you don't know the real Barry then," Barry huffed, "Maybe a part of me has always wanted nice things and a little more respect, and as for the sex…I'm a _guy_ , Iris. I have desires, too, just like any other red-blooded male. The only difference is that I've always been too much of a gentleman to act on them."

"So, you're telling me," Iris said angrily, "That the Barry I know has a secret desire to be a man-whore?"

Barry laughed and shook his head.

"No," he said, "I'm telling you that the Barry you know is too afraid to take what he wants. He's too afraid to _live_. Well, not anymore. From now on, I'm going to do _what_ I want _when_ I want, and I'm not going to answer to anyone for it."

Iris sucked in a breath.

"Barry, do you even _hear_ yourself right now?" she asked desperately, "You can't say that this isn't the metahuman affecting you!"

"I don't care if it is," Barry shrugged, "If the metahuman is behind it, then I should thank him. This is the best thing that's ever happened to me."

"You wouldn't be saying that if you were yourself right now," Iris insisted, shaking her head, "And when we get back to Central City, we're going to fix whatever the metahuman did to you."

Barry slowly shook his head at her.

"We can talk about this later," he sighed, "For now, I just want to make the most of this night with you."

With that, Barry finished his single-malt whiskey and pulled her toward the dance floor. Iris wanted to protest. She wanted to continue their conversation, but that was made impossible by the loud music rennervating through the club. Barry smirked at her. He knew what he was doing. He wasn't allowing her to spoil their night by talking about going home. He was determined to have fun with her.

Iris was surprised when they didn't stop on the dance floor but instead walked right through it. They didn't dance.

Instead, Barry led her to another part of the club, a wide doorway that opened up to an outdoor area. It was a warm, beautiful night, and the light breeze felt good against her skin compared to the stuffy air on the dance floor. Iris gasped when she saw what was outside of the club.

"Is that a swimming pool?" she asked.

Barry laughed and nodded.

"Not much swimming goes on it, though," he said, "It's just for show."

"That's a waste," Iris said, looking down at the beautiful pool.

"I agree," Barry grinned, "Here, take this."

He handed Iris her cellphone. Iris frowned at it in confusion. What was he doing? He said he wasn't going to give her her phone until two. She was so preoccupied with wondering what his game was here, she didn't notice Barry getting ready to jump. Suddenly, she heard a loud splash, causing her to look up from her phone.

"Barry!" Iris hissed when his head came up to the surface again, "What are you _doing_?!"

"Going for a swim," Barry said simply, looking up at her from the pool, his now-wet hair clinging to the sides of his face.

"Are you _crazy_?!" Iris hissed at him, looking around for security, "You're going to get us kicked out of here!"

Barry only laughed at that.

"They're not going to kick _Grant Smythe_ out of here, don't worry," he assured her, "You should join me."

Iris goggled at him.

"I'm not jumping in with you, Barry," she said seriously, "In case you forgot, I'm wearing a twelve-thousand-dollar dress."

"And this was a five-thousand-dollar suit," he pointed out.

A devious grin spread across his face then.

"If it makes you feel better," he said slowly, "We could always just take our clothes—"

"I'm _not_ skinny-dipping with you, Barry," Iris groaned.

Her own devious smile spread across her face then.

"I'm going to make a _phone call_ ," she smirked.

Barry just laughed and shook his head as she pulled out her phone. Iris frowned when she saw the screen. No service.

"That's going to be rather difficult without your sim card," Barry said smugly.

Iris's eyes went wide.

"You—? You took out my sim card?!"

Barry laughed and nodded, a stupid smirk on his face.

"Don't worry," he assured her, "I hid it in a safe place."

Iris stared incredulously at him.

"I can't _believe_ you!" she seethed.

Barry just laughed.

"You'd probably feel better if you joined me," he said casually, moving so that he was floating on his back in the pool, "The water feels incredible."

"I'm not doing it," Iris said firmly, walking over to sit at one of the outdoor tables, "I'm going to wait right here for you until you decide your done with your little swim."

Barry sighed and stood up straight in the pool then.

"Fine," he said, "Help me out of here."

Iris huffed as she walked over to the pool to take his outstretched hand. Before she knew it, though, Barry was pulling her into the pool.

"Barry!" Iris shrieked when she suddenly found herself to be in the water.

"I can't believe you fell for that!" Barry choked, letting out a loud, ringing laugh.

Iris splashed some water in his face.

"Barry, I'm soaked!" she whined.

"You shouldn't have set down your phone," Barry smirked, "It's like you were _asking_ me to pull you in."

Iris frowned as she looked back at the table she had been sitting at. Her phone was sitting on the table next to her drink, where she had set it down without thinking. Iris internally cursed herself.

"Admit it," Barry smirked, "The water feels nice."

Iris sighed and shook her head at him. Deep down, though, she had to admit: the pool _did_ feel good on this hot Nevada night. She felt self-conscious, though. Other club-goers who were around the pool were giving them strange looks. Barry didn't even seem to notice them, though. His eyes were fixed on her.

"This feels _weird_ ," Iris whined, "Swimming with full clothes on."

"Well, like I said," Barry grinned, "We could always—"

"We're not taking them off," Iris snapped, "I said I wasn't skinny-dipping, and in case you didn't notice, there are other _people_ here, Barry."

"What other people?" he asked, grinning at her.

Iris rolled her eyes at his corniness.

"Can we _please_ get out now?" she pleaded.

Barry smiled and finally nodded.

"If that's what you really want," he sighed.

"It is," Iris said seriously.

"Fine," he pouted.

She was surprised when Barry listened to her then. They actually got out of the pool. Iris was starting to notice that Barry _did_ listen to her most of the time. He wanted her to have fun, after all. She just wished he would listen to her about the things that really mattered, like getting him back to Central City so they could put him back to normal.

"Where to next?" she asked him after he helped her out of the pool, "Now that we're _soaking wet_."

Barry grinned at her. Without a word, he flashed her out of the club. When they came to a stop, they weren't outside anymore and the music of the club suddenly disappeared. Everything was silent.

"Where are we?" Iris asked, looking around the extravagant room she suddenly found herself to be in.

"Caesar's Palace," Barry said, taking off his sopping wet suit jacket, "My suite."

Iris's heart stuttered in her chest. Barry had taken them back to his _hotel_ _room_.

"Relax, Iris," Barry said calmly as he started to undo the buttons of his undershirt, "This isn't a seduction attempt."

Iris swallowed as she watched Barry undo the buttons of his shirt. ' _Are you sure about that?'_ she wanted to ask. The wet, white undershirt was practically transparent as it clung to his body. She could plainly see his abs underneath the material, as if it wasn't even there. Iris felt her heartrate quicken.

"I know you're not that kind of girl," Barry continued, as he finished undoing the buttons, letting the shirt hang open, revealing his stomach, "And I respect you for it. We're just here to change."

With that, Barry suddenly flashed out of the room, returning a moment later with a fresh change of clothes for her. Iris was thankful to see that they weren't as extravagant as the dress he had bought her. It was a simple pair of sweatpants and a T-shirt.

"Thank you," Iris whispered as she took the clothes from him.

Barry's lips twitched. He then pointed to a door in the corner.

"You can change in the bathroom," he told her softly.

Iris nodded and took the clothes from him. She didn't move, though. For a moment the two of them just stared at each other, standing in Barry's hotel room, the water from their clothes dripping onto the carpet. After a moment, Iris gave herself a small shake and tore her eyes away from his.

"Okay," she said quietly, moving to the bathroom to change.

As soon as the door was closed, Iris pressed her back against it and took in a shaky breath. This was crazy! She was in Las Vegas with Barry, who was under the influence of some rogue metahuman. The others were probably worried _sick_ about them, not to mention wondering where the hell she had disappeared to. Her father was probably having a coronary right now over the whole thing. For some reason, Iris hadn't paid that much thought until now. She hadn't been able to make herself care about that. She had just been wrapped up in the moment. Now that she was alone, though, her mind was racing. It had to be nearing two AM by now. She would be able to call the others, and they would take Barry home. And this night…

This night would just be a memory. A fluke night she had spent with Barry in Vegas because of some metahuman. It was all just a fluke, a funny accident.

Iris had to keep telling herself that as she got dressed in Barry's hotel bathroom, which she was just now noticing had its own _chandelier_. After getting dressed, Iris goggled at it for a moment, also noticing that the bathroom had both a shower and jacuzzi bathtub that looked more like a small swimming pool. It was hard to believe this was a hotel room and not the bathroom of some celebrity's _mansion_.

When Iris took a deep, mind-clearing breath and finally exited the bathroom, she was surprised to find Barry still in the process of changing. He had changed into a pair of sweatpants, but he was taking his sweet time to put a fresh shirt on.

"So much for being the fastest man alive," she teased, suspecting Barry was _purposely_ taking his time.

He could have changed his clothes in a blink of an eye, and they both knew it. He had _intentionally_ wanted her to find him shirtless when she exited the bathroom. Iris wasn't that naïve. Regardless, she couldn't help but be amused by his antics, especially when they gave her an eyeful of his abs. Seriously, where had those _come_ from?! Had the lightning given them to him?!

Barry smiled knowingly at her.

"I wanted to show you my surprise for you," he grinned.

Iris's heart nearly leapt out of her chest at these words. What the hell did _that_ mean?!

Before she could jump to any conclusions or ask Barry what he meant, he suddenly turned, showing her his bare shoulder. Iris's eyes furrowed in confusion when she saw the dark mark that was there.

She then gasped and clapped a hand to her mouth in shock when she recognized it for what it was.

"Is that a _tattoo_?!" she shouted.

Barry grinned and nodded.

"Oh, my _God_ , Barry!" Iris shrieked, not knowing weather on not to laugh or scream.

Barry—Barry _Allen_ —had gotten a tattoo! Iris didn't know if she should feel horrified for him or just laugh at the hilarity of the situation. Barry had a _tattoo_! He was going to be so mortified when all this was over and he was thinking clearly again!

Iris rushed over to him for a closer look at it. Once she saw what it was, she suddenly no longer had any desire to laugh. When her eyes landed on the calligraphic script etched into his skin, all she felt was crippling shock.

 _Iris_

It was her name. Barry had gotten a tattoo of her name!

"Oh…oh, my God, Barry," Iris whispered, running her hand over the tattoo, "Please, _please_ tell me this isn't real!"

Barry smiled and shook his head.

"It's real," he assured her, "I got it done earlier tonight, when you guys were trying to track me down. I told you I'd prove you were the only girl for me."

Iris stared at the tattoo in shock, torn half-way between flattered and horrified. This was _insane_! This was _horrible_! Even after they put Barry's mind right, he was going to be stuck with this for the rest of his life! That is, if it didn't fade with his healing abilities. Either way, Barry was going to have this for a while. Iris almost would have found it funny if it wasn't _her_ name that was forever etched into Barry's skin.

"I meant what I said," Barry said quietly, his eyes fixed on her face as she stared at his tattoo, "You mean everything to me, Iris. You're my whole world."

"Barry," Iris choked, a lump forming in her throat.

This wasn't fair. He wasn't thinking clearly right now. It wasn't fair of her to stand here while he poured his heart out to her, under the influence of some metahuman.

"I'm serious," Barry told her, "I don't care what you say. I know you think this is just the metahuman talking, but it's not. I know how I feel. The metahuman just got rid of all the things that were stopping me from saying it. I _love_ you, Iris."

"Barry," Iris said in a strained voice, "Can…can we have this conversation later? Please? I don't want to have this conversation with you when you're—"

"No," Barry cut her off, "I need to say this now, while I still can."

Iris stared at him with wide, watery eyes, unable to say a word as Barry continued.

"I've loved you for over half my life, Iris," he said, "And I know, deep down, you feel something for me, too. I know how hard this is for you, though. You haven't dated anyone since you lost Eddie. Moving on must feel _impossible_ to you, especially with _me_ after everything that's happened between us."

Iris looked down at the floor, and Barry let out a heavy sigh, gently putting his hand under her chin to raise her head up, locking eyes with her.

"Eddie _did_ matter," he said firmly, "His life mattered, and his death should be respected. I never expected you to run off with me the moment he was gone. You wouldn't be the woman I love if you did."

"Barry," Iris choked, tears forming in her eyes.

"But Eddie wouldn't want you to hold yourself back," Barry continued, his voice shaking slightly, "He would want you to find happiness again…and as much as I hope you can find that happiness with _me,_ I'll just be happy to see _you_ happy, Iris. That's all I've ever wanted for you."

"Barry," Iris whispered, "I…"

"You don't have to say anything right now," Barry said quickly, "I'm not saying any of this to pressure you. You can take all the time you need. I just needed to say this. I just needed you to know that my feelings have never changed, not when I was with Patty and not now. I'll always love you, Iris, whether I've been whammied by some metahuman or not and whether you return those feelings or not. I just want you to be happy."

Iris gave Barry a watery smile, a single tear brimming over to roll down her cheek. Barry lovingly swiped it away with his thumb. He took in a shaky breath and looked down at his watch then.

"It's two AM," he said softly.

He walked over to the coffee table and picked something up. With a closer look, Iris saw that it was the sim card for her cell phone. He had hidden it here.

Barry reinstalled the small card into her phone and handed it to her.

"I'll see you at home," he said softly.

Barry flashed out of the hotel room then.

For a moment, Iris just stood there in the empty suite, in shock from the conversation they had just had. She was grateful for the space. He had clearly sensed she needed a moment alone to clear her head, and he had given it to her. She was thankful for that. Iris clenched the phone in her hand.

It took her a full ten minutes to collect herself and call the others.

Even though she was exhausted, she knew she wasn't going to sleep on the flight home.

She had too much to think about.


End file.
